The Adventures of Absol
by neaucleareactor5
Summary: Absol, who has no love for humans, gets caught by the one creature he deems unnecessary to be on the planet. Humans. That is, until he meets the loving and unconfident trainer April, who takes him on an adventure riddled with excitement and danger. Point of View: Absol.
1. Chapter 1

**My first T story. Constructive criticism appreciated. **

I groaned and rolled over, sensing that the sun was coming up. Raindrops fell down from the grey sky, and I yawned, stretching. The cave I had slept in was cozy, and I almost felt like staying there. Unfortunately, my horn was tingling, warning me of impending danger. I sighed and crawled out of the cave. Being an Absol, it was my duty to warn and protect others from danger. Luckily, this wasn't a natural disaster sort of danger. That would make my horn go nuts. No, this was the danger of malicious intent. Someone was being attacked with the intent to merely kill or harm. It didn't really fall under my jurisdiction, but I felt responsible either way. I plodded along, splashing through puddles and ducking under low hanging tree branches. No Pokémon with any common sense would be moving about in this weather.

A Ursaring roared, and I froze, detecting where it was coming from. It was followed by a scream. I couldn't tell what Pokémon it was from, but it sounded young. I bolted forwards, racing through the trees. Ursaring were large, mean, and had a really short fuse. It was probably something stupid that it was getting upset over. The Ursaring came into view, a large female, who was attacking a huddled form between two rocks, using hammer arm to bash the boulders. I raced forwards, slamming my horn into Ursaring, knocking her over.

"Back off!" I snapped. Ursaring stood up, glaring at me.

"This doesn't concern you, Absol." Ursaring snarled, charging up another hammer arm. "I will crush this human for attacking my child!" She snapped. I looked at the huddled form, realizing that it was, in fact, a human. She was young, no older than ten or eleven, with long brown hair and wearing a red dress. She was drenched from the rain, and was quivering in fear. I sighed and looked back at Ursaring.

"Ok, she's what, ten or eleven? She sure doesn't seem like she'd hurt your kid. Where is your kid, anyways?" I said. Ursaring took a step forwards, but then paused, seeing her Teddiursa coming out of the trees.

"Mommy, stop! The human didn't hurt me, we were playing and I fell and hurt myself. I'm sorry I worried you." Teddiursa said. Ursaring relaxed, and she smiled, walking over and picking up Teddiursa.

"Is that so? I'm sorry I got all angry." She said sweetly. I sighed and shook my head. Ursaring glared at me. "I'll let you off the hook this time, Absol, but I won't be so kind next time." She growled, and lumbered off into the forest.

"Well someone needs to take a nap." I said shaking my head. "Now, what should I do about her?" I sighed and looked back at the girl, who was watching me fearfully. I had no love for humans, and she was no exception. But, I couldn't just leave her here. I shook my head. What was I saying? Of course I could. She got here, and she can get back. I'd done my duty in protecting her. I started to walk off into the pine forest, looking forwards to getting back into my cave.

"Wait!" The girl said, coming out from between the rocks. "T-thanks." She said, stopping about ten feet from me. I looked her up and down, and then nodded.

"Sure kid. You're welcome." I said, and started off again.

"W-wait!" She said again. I paused, looking back. She looked close to tears. "P-please don't leave. I-I don't know where I am…" She said, wiping her eyes and beginning to cry. My heart panged, and I shook my head. What a time to be getting soft. I walked up to her and nudged the girl. She looked up, surprised.

"Follow me, kid." I said reluctantly, and motioning into the forest by jerking my head to the side. Humans were stupid and couldn't understand Pokémon, so I had to be deliberate in telling her what I wanted to do.

"Y-You want me to follow you?" She said. I nodded. "O-ok…" She said. I sniffed the air, detecting where the humans were camped almost instantly. They were so smelly and noisy, it was almost impossible to miss them. They were about two miles to the northwest of here. I trotted off, the girl struggling to keep up. After ten minutes, I began to hear another human, who was yelling.

"April! April, where are you?!" He called. I could sense his nervous energy from here. The girl hadn't picked up on this yet, she was too busy keeping up to hear him. I sighed.

"Stay here, I'll go get him." I said, and raced off through the trees.

"W-wait!" She called. I ignored her and ran up to the man, who was about a quarter of a mile away. He flinched when I burst through the brush, glaring at him.

"Come with me." I said, and raced back through the trees towards the girl. I heard the man crashing through the trees behind me, and I slowed down, giving the man a chance to catch up. The girl nearly crashed into me, having been running this direction after me.

"Ow!" She said, falling over. I walked around her, and watched as the man crashed through the trees. Humans were slow, stupid, and loud. It's a wonder they hadn't died off yet. He stumbled, caught himself, and looked up, catching sight of his daughter. "Daddy?" She said, still sitting on the ground. She stood up and ran to the man, crying. "Daddy!" She said, leaping into her arms. I nodded and walked off through the trees. I didn't need to see their tearful reunion. I was tired, wet, and going back to my cave.

Two months later:

I growled at the two men in front of me, holding one paw up gingerly. A nice gash ran along that leg, from where one of them had cut me. They were prodding me with a stick, trying to get a wire loop around my neck. I limped backwards, pressing up against the rock wall behind me. Now I was trapped, too. Wonderful.

"Come on! Many people would kill for an Absol, so just play nice and come on! Don't make me hurt you again!" One said. I growled and fired a razor wind at them, making them dive out of the way.

"Back off!" I yelled. I hated humans. They were all the same. Turn your back for one second, and they try and kill or capture you. Over the past two months, these two had chased me all across the Kanto mountain range, hoping to catch me. I was the only Absol in the region, having traveled all the way from Sinnoh, and that had made me a target.

"Do you have any pokeballs left?" One asked the other, running back to where they had been, preventing my escape.

"No. I used them up on that Rhydon. All my Pokémon are KO'd too, so that's no good. We have to catch this one the old fashioned way." He said, shaking his head. The other cursed, prodding at me again. I snarled.

"Back off." I growled. "Don't make me hurt you." I said that, but I could feel my strength fading fast, and my cut was beginning to throb. It wouldn't be long before I couldn't do anything. They kept prodding at me, and I charged an ice beam. My father had taught me how to use it before I left home. They dove out of the way, and I blasted. They cursed me, and I nodded in satisfaction. They weren't going anywhere, one having his foot encased in ice, the other having an entire leg stuck to the ground. I limped forwards, trying to get past them. Unfortunately, I forgot about the noose.

"Gotcha!" One said, hooking me. He yanked and I fell to the ground with a yelp, pain lancing through my shoulder. There was a crash somewhere nearby, and I heard two more humans racing up the hill towards me.

"Stop where you are! You two are under arrest!" Someone yelled. The two men cursed, struggling against the ice. I looked up at the two new humans. A woman in a white lab coat was running up to me, followed closely behind by a police officer.

"Oh, god. Officer Jenny! This Absol is hurt badly!" Lab Coat said, touching my side. I growled weakly, lifting my head to glare at her. I didn't need their help. "Hey, it's ok. I'm here to help." She said, pulling out an Oran berry. I refused to take it, and she frowned, confused at my reaction. My father had always said my stubbornness would be the end of me.

"You get him help, I'm going to take these two into custody." The officer said. Lab Coat nodded and pulled out a pokeball, touching it to my side. My vision swirled, and then went black.

When I woke up, I was lying in a bed, a blanket covering me. My side ached, and I nudged the blanket off of me with my horn. I winced from the effort, my side erupting in pain. My cut had been closed with what looked like thread, any my fur had been shaved off around it. The wound was red and swollen, but otherwise looked like it would heal. A metal door slid open, and a woman in a white lab coat walked in, tapping a syringe.

"Don't worry; this is just to ease the pain." She said, seeing that I was awake. I growled at her.

"No. You will not touch me with that thing." I snapped. The woman took a step back and held up the syringe.

"Don't want this?" She said, and laid the syringe on the table. She then pulled a weird spray bottle out of her lab coat. "Would this be better?" She asked. I continued to glare at her, and shook my head. She wasn't going to put anything on me. Period. I don't trust humans, especially after what had just happened. She took a step forwards, and my growl turned into a snarl.

"No." I snapped. "Back off before I hurt you." I stood up, favoring my left paw heavily. The bed didn't make for very good footing, which was annoying.

"Doctor!" The woman called. I jumped off the bed with a wince. That hurt. I wouldn't be doing that again. The woman opened the door and slipped outside, watching me through the window. I continued to glare at her. They would not be getting me. Another person appeared, and the two humans started to discuss something. They agreed, and the other ran off. A door opened behind me and I whirled, just in time to get a sleep powder to the face.

"Calm down, bud. They're just trying to help." The Butterfree responsible said._ Yeah, right. Why would humans help me_? Were my last thoughts before I blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

"How humans ride in these things, I will never know." I said grumpily, feeling another jolt go through my body as the truck bounced. "It's like rolling down the side of a mountain." I said. The back of the truck was dark, the only light coming from a few windows and the tip of a Charmander's tail. I was lying in a steel cage, not wanting to even think about where I was going. After two weeks, the doctors decided I needed something called physical therapy, whatever that was. So they were sending me off to another researcher. His name was some sort of tree…Pine, I believe?

"You want some?" Charmander asked, holding a small brown pellet through the bars. I glared at him. Charmander, a Squirtle, and a Bulbasaur had all been released from their pokeballs because of one of those infernal bounces. They were now chowing down on what had been labeled as 'Pokémon food.' I wasn't so sure it was.

"No." I said, and turned away.

"Fine. More for us." Squirtle said. "By the way, why are you in a cage? Shouldn't you be in a pokeball?" He asked. I glared at him. He was facing the opposite wall, stuffing his face. I growled.

"No." I said. "I refuse to be in one of those things. I, unlike you, was born in the wild." I snapped. Squirtle shrugged and continued eating, which irked me even more.

"You don't have to be so mean about it. He was just asking a question." Charmander said. I turned my glare to him, shaking my head.

"Shut it, Charmander." I snapped and turned away.

"Just leave him alone, Charmander." Bulbasaur said. Charmander sighed and went back to eating. I glared at the wall. I had been at that facility for two weeks, and now I was going someplace else. All I wanted was to leave, to go back into the mountains. That was my home. The truck jerked to a stop, and I heard a car door slam shut. Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander all muttered something and then entered their pokeballs. The back of the truck slid open, and two men were standing there, examining us.

"Here they are, Oak." The driver said. I recognized him. He had tried to coax me into eating some drug laced food that he insisted was medicine. I had bit him on the hand on many occasions. "Watch out for that Absol, he can be nasty." The man said ruefully, rubbing his bandaged hand. I smirked inwardly.

"Well, he can't be that much trouble." Oak said, stepping inside the truck and reaching through the bars to pet me. I pressed myself against the opposite wall and growled. Oak just chuckled and withdrew his hand. "He'll let you know if he doesn't like you, huh?" He said, and turned to look at the food. The driver cursed, seeing it.

"How'd that happen?" He asked. Oak shrugged and grabbed the bag, dragging it out of the truck.

"Don't know. I'll just use that bag first. Would you help me unload?" Oak asked. The driver grunted, and together they began to unload the bags of food. Oak grabbed the three pokeballs containing Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander, sliding them into his coat pocket. When all the food had been unloaded, the two of them turned to me. They grabbed my cage and unloaded me, placing my cage on the ground outside of the truck. I examined my surroundings, my head swiveling left and right as I did so. It appeared to be a large ranch of some sort, with a wood fence surrounding the entire property. I saw multiple Pokémon roaming around, including Pokémon not native to the region. There was an Infernape talking to a Sceptile, and they appeared to be having a heated discussion. I didn't even notice when the truck drove off. Oak leaned down and tapped the steel bars. He grinned at me.

"How's it going?" He asked. I growled in response, and he just laughed. "Oh, come now. Don't be like that. I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay here." He said. I looked around.

"Where is here?" I mused. Oak chuckled, and I glared at him. "And why do I have to be here?"

"This is my Pokémon research laboratory. You were sent here because of your wound. It might seem healed, but the muscle is still stiff and needs work to relax it. Apparently you let it heal funny because of your stubborn nature." Oak said. I furrowed my brows. Could he understand me? "I bet they didn't tell you that did they? Ah, probably not. I believe that Pokémon are much smarter than most people realize. It's too bad we can't understand you." He said with a wistful sigh. I raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you at least seem to have some modicum of intelligence. You appear to be better than those other humans, at least." I said, and pressed against the bars. "Now, let me out, would you?" I asked. Oak nodded, as if he understood. He reached towards the bars, and I could almost taste freedom. As soon as he opened the doors, I would run off into the mountains. He lifted the cage door, and I leapt forwards, falling flat on my face as pain rocketed up my shoulder. I groaned and stood up, stretching my left shoulder. That was just flat out undignified.

"See?" Oak said, clipping something around my neck at the same time. I yelped in surprise and took a step back from him, growling. "Don't worry, it's just a tracer. I can't have you running off. I'd get in trouble." He said. I growled again, and he laughed. "Now how about we get started, huh? Stretch out your leg." Oak said. I stayed where I was.

"No." I snapped. "I don't need your help." I said, and turned around. I started to walk away, but stumbled when I put pressure on my leg. The tightness in the muscle made it almost impossible to move.

"Like this." Oak said, and jerked my leg forwards. I yelped as pain lanced through my leg, and I bit Oak on the hand. He yelled in surprise, jerking his hand away. I glared at him and he laughed. "Don't worry, I get bit all the time." He said. "Working with Pokémon comes with its hazards." He said, and stood up. "Now do you understand what I'm trying to do? I'm going to help get rid of the tightness in your leg. Will you allow me to help you?" I studied Oak curiously. This was the first time a human had asked my permission to do something. I thought for a moment before nodding reluctantly. I would trust this human….for now.

Two weeks later:

I groaned and stretched out my body. The tightness in my shoulder was still there, but it was barely noticeable. Oak had helped some, but most the time he just let me do my thing. I had learned more about the humans than I really wished to while I'd been here, but one fact stuck out above the rest. I'd been caught. The doctors at the other facility apparently thought it necessary to catch me while I was out from sleep powder, and had also neglected to mention that. I sighed and rolled over, basking in the sun, listening as Totodile approached me.

"How's it going, Absol?" He asked. I sighed.

"How does it look like it's going?" I said, opening one eye to look at the small blue crocodile. He shrugged and grinned at me.

"Looks like you're being lazy for once." He said. I stood up, glaring at him.

"Hmph. Think what you like." I said, and trotted off. He was the only Pokémon on this ranch that refused to leave me alone. I had always been more solitary than most, and preferred it that way. Not that I don't enjoy company every once in a while, but being around others tends to get taxing. My horn began to tingle and I looked around, alarmed. I relaxed a little when I realized that a natural disaster was not, in fact, imminent. Then a girl screamed. I recognized it as a young human, and heard the buzzing of Beedrill. I sighed. Great. Bug Pokémon. And for some reason, I felt inclined to help.

"You hear that?" Totodile said running up. I ignored him and raced off in the direction of the scream. If I was right, and I usually was, they were about a quarter of a mile away, to the southwest. I raced down there, noting that the tightness in my shoulder had all but disappeared, and no longer hindered me. The girl came into view; she was sitting in a ditch, covering her head with her arms, attempting to protect herself from the ten Beedrill swarming around her.

"KILL." They buzzed. I sighed. Beedrill were worse than Ursaring, and not nearly as reasonable. I charged a razor wind and fired, knocking back at least five of them. The rest turned towards me menacingly.

"So, tell me. Why would you be attacking this girl here?" I asked calmly. They circled me, flitting around above my head.

"INVADED OUR NEST. KILL. KILL." They buzzed. I sighed.

"Well, you know humans. They're stupid and clumsy. As much as you might want to, you can't hold it against them." I said. The Beedrill just buzzed angrily, dive bombing me. I leapt backwards, avoiding the first strike. "Hey! Watch it! I'm just trying to help!" The Beedrill ignored me and continued their attack. "Fine, if that's the way you want to play." I growled, and fired an ice beam. Three Beedrill fell to the ground, frozen, and the rest backed off.

"KILL." They said.

"No kill. Back off, unless you want another ice beam." I growled. The Beedrill listened this time, and fled into the trees. I sighed and walked over to the girl. "Come on. Get up." I said. The girl stared at me dumbly, and then it hit me. This was the same girl I had saved from Ursaring. "You just attract danger, don't you?" I said, and walked over to her. She slowly stood up, brushing off her shirt.

"Th-Thank you." She said. I nodded and looked around nervously. My horn was still tingling. I sniffed the air, and peered into the trees. For some reason, I couldn't detect what was making my horn tingle. I frowned. What was going on? "A-Are you ok?" The girl asked, touching my side. I leapt to the side, away from her hand, resisting the urge to bite. My horn was still tingling, and it was telling me….

"No way." I muttered, and walked up to the girl, who was looking at me fearfully. I examined her closely. If I was right, then it was her that was making my horn tingle. I could practically hear my father yelling at me. _Some places, objects, or even humans and Pokémon radiate danger. Disasters of all kind usually follow in their wake. If you find one of these dangerous objects, stick with it. It is your job to warn others of danger, and by doing so, you protect others from unnecessary harm. _I sighed. I hadn't really paid attention back then. And not once had it occurred to me that he was serious.

"April! Are you ok?" Oak said, running up. Totodile was running with him, I assume that he had gotten Oak. April nodded.

"Y-Yes. Thanks to Absol. I was getting attacked by Beedrill after accidentally stumbling into their nest when he saved me." April said. Oak sighed and shook his head.

"You get into more trouble than any other person I've met. Anyways, what are you doing out here, April? Where are your parents?" He asked. April looked at the ground.

"Well….I, uh, I was coming to see if I could maybe get a Pokémon." She said. Oak raised his eyebrows inquisitively. "I-I thought maybe that going on a journey would be fun and a good experience. Everyone else is going on one…" She said quickly. Oak sighed.

"I'm sorry, but I just gave Parker the last Pokémon I've got for trainers." Oak said. "However, I've got another batch coming in next month, so you should be able to get one then." He said. April sighed and kicked at the ground. I sighed and took a step forwards.

"Fine. I'll go with her. That Charmander just wouldn't shut up about going on a journey with a trainer, so I'm curious as to why he'd be so excited about it. Besides," I said, glancing at the girl. "I'd like to keep an eye on her." I said. Oak stared at me.

"You want to go with her?" He asked.

"What, are you stupid? That's what I just said. Now let's do this before I change my mind." I said, hoping I wouldn't regret this decision. I was sacrificing my freedom here, and I hoped it would be worth it. Oak looked at April.

"Is that ok with you?" He asked. April looked at me nervously and nodded.

"Y-yes. As long as it's ok with him." She said. I groaned and looked at her, deliberately nodding. It was the only way to get her to understand.

"I was the one to offer." I said. She smiled and looked back at Oak, who was smiling at me.

"Alright! Then let's get it all squared away. Come with me back to my lab." Oak said. We followed, and I walked next to April. I glanced at her. She seemed timid and defenseless, which I hoped wouldn't be a problem. I sighed and shook my head. What was I getting myself into?


	3. Chapter 3

**No offense to all the Ricks out there **

"How's Rick sound?" April asked me. I rolled my eyes. This had been going on for the past half hour, name after name, constantly asking me. It wasn't like she was taking my opinion into account either; she was just listing names because she couldn't decide. Most were just as bad as Rick. She muttered to herself for a bit about the name, giving me the chance to watch my surroundings. After the process with Oak and a little farewell with April's family, we had hit the road towards Viridian City, which was supposedly a day's walk from the lab. Spearow and Pidgey flitted about in the trees, chattering wildly. My horn's tingling had dulled down to a quiet nag in the back of my head, constantly reminding me that this girl was pretty much a walking time bomb.

"No, I don't like Rick. How about…Absolution?" She asked. I groaned.

"Look, I realize that's the word you humans named me after, but seriously, that's worse than Rick." I muttered.

"No, that's no good either." She said. "Hmmm…..how about Disaster?" She asked.

"At this point, I'd take Rick to shut you up." I said. She shook her head.

"No, that's too simple." She said, and started to mutter to herself about names again. I sighed. Why did she feel the need to name me? Why couldn't I just be Absol? "Oh! I got it! What about Mars?" She asked. I thought for a second. Mars was some sort of ancient god of theirs, right? I could go with being a deity.

"Sure. It's better than Rick." I said. She nodded. "Besides, I am pretty god-like."

"Yes, I like it. Mars is the god of war, and war can be disastrous, right? Mars it is." She said, and turned to me, smiling. "So, what now, Mars?" She asked. I shrugged.

"I'm just following you." I said. She nodded, and dashed ahead a little ways, laughing.

"I can't believe I'm actually going on an adventure! It's so exciting, isn't it Mars?" She asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. Sure. You'll have to excuse me if I don't jump for joy." I said sarcastically. She laughed again, beaming at me, and I frowned, sensing someone approaching. I stopped walking, staring at the forest. "Someone's coming." I said. April stopped and walked back to me.

"What's wrong?" She asked. I didn't feel the need to answer, because just then, someone came bursting out of the trees. He looked about the same age as April, and wore a green t-shirt and jeans. "P-Parker?" April said, squinting at him. The boy cursed at something, spotted us, and waved.

"Yo! April! So you got a Pokémon after all, huh?" He said, walking up to us and picking twigs out of his hair. He grinned at me. "Is this your Pokémon?" He asked. April nodded.

"Y-yes." She said tentatively. I looked at her. Why was she suddenly so timid? Wasn't this kid a friend?

"Don't be so shy about it!" Parker said loudly. _You could practice being quieter. _I noted. "You need to be bold and brave, ready to take on the world!" He yelled, pumping his fist into the air. _And you could add a sense of humility. _

"R-right. Sorry." April said. She really was timid.

"Don't apologize! It makes you look weak. Anyways, why don't we have a battle? It'd be good to see who's stronger now that we've both got Pokémon of our own." Parker said.

"I-I don't know. Do you want to battle?" April asked me. I sighed and nodded.

"Sure. Why not." I said. April nodded and looked back at Parker.

"Then I guess we'll battle you." She said. Parker nodded.

"Alright! This'll be a one on one battle!" Parker said, and turned around, marching about thirty feet away and grabbing a pokeball. "Meet my partner, Cannon!" Parker threw out a pokeball, and out popped Squirtle, ready to fight me.

"Ok, Mars. Let's go." April said tentatively. I walked out onto the field casually. I wasn't worried about fighting Squirtle.

"Cannon?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. Squirtle sighed.

"Don't ask." He muttered. "It's by far the best name he'd come up with. Anyways, what happened to you? When I first met you, you were all 'humans are terrible' and 'freedom.' Why are you traveling with a human now?" Cannon asked. I shrugged.

"Reasons." I said. "You ready?" I asked. Cannon nodded.

"Let the battle begin!" Parker yelled. "Cannon, start it off with bubble!" Cannon blew the bubbles at me, and I stayed where I was, prepared to dodge. I was supposed to let April tell me what to do, which I thought was stupid. Still, I would let her play her game, even if just this once.

"Mars, razor wind." April said. I nodded and whipped my head forwards, shooting the razor wind. The blast of air sliced right through the bubbles, popping every single one, and slammed into Cannon, who was sent tumbling. "Now use ice beam." She said. I fired, having one already charged one up. Cannon didn't even have time to react as I froze him up to his neck. I nodded and sat down. This battle was over.

"You've got good instincts, kid. That's what I would've done on my own, too." I said, having newfound respect for April. "I would've dodged that bubble first; it never crossed my mind that my razor wind would be strong enough to pass straight through it." Parker freed Cannon by recalling him, leaving a Squirtle shaped hole in the ice. He looked at April and grinned.

"That was awesome! See? Be more confident!" Parker said. April nodded, blushing.

"Th-thanks, but isn't that the opposite reaction you should be having? You just lost." She said. That was exactly what I was thinking. Parker laughed.

"Are you kidding?! After seeing an awesome combo like that? Yeah, right! It just makes me want to work harder than before! Well, anyways, I'm going back into the forest to train. You go on to Viridian, and I'll catch up later." He said, and dashed off into the forest. April sighed, and we started walking again. It was silent for a few minutes before April started to talk again.

"So, Mars, how about we try and get you a friend?" April finally said. I glanced at her.

"Oh, yeah. And then we can hold hands and sing Kumbaya and play games." I said sarcastically. "I'm not the friendly type, so why don't you catch yourself a new friend?" April nodded, nervously twisting her shirt.

"I agree. Let's go find you a friend." She said, and stopped, looking into the forest.

"I think you're misreading me." I said, standing next to her. I could see rustling in the forest, not twenty yards from the trail. There was a flash of yellow, and April started to get excited.

"Did you see that?" She asked. I sighed and nodded. "It might be a Pikachu. Let's go after it!" She ran forwards and I followed, watching as an Elekid popped out of the bush. April skidded to a halt, looking confused. She pulled out her pokedex, and it popped open.

"Elekid, the electric Pokémon. It generates electricity by whirling its arms. However, it can't store the energy it makes." The pokedex said. Elekid glanced at me.

"So, I assume you're here to capture me?" The Elekid asked.

"Mar's, let's catch this guy!" April said. I sighed and stepped forwards.

"Does that answer your question?" I said. He shrugged, and dropped the berry he was holding.

"Fine with me. I wouldn't mind being caught. My dad was a trainer's Pokémon once, and he said it was fun." The Elekid said.

"Mars, use pursuit." April said.

"Well, nothing personal, bud, but you seem way too relaxed about this." I said, and charged forwards. Elekid didn't move, he just let me run into him and fell over. He groaned and stayed where he was, winking at me.

"Don't worry, I'm not KO'd. I doubt I'd be able to beat you anyways, so why get hurt unnecessarily, right?" Elekid said. I sighed as April threw a pokeball at him, sucking him inside. It rolled three times and blinked, indicating a successful capture. April jumped into the air happily and ran up, grabbing the pokeball.

"Alright! We did it, Mars!" April said, scanning the pokeball on her pokedex. I remember Oak explaining it, doing that could tell you what moves the Pokémon knew. "He knows thundershock, karate chop, swift, and thunder wave. Cool." She said, and let Elekid out of the pokeball. "Hi! Sorry I caught you, I hope you don't mind." She said. Elekid shook his head with a smile.

"No, I don't mind. I decided to get caught when I saw you." He said. April grinned.

"So, what shall we call you then?" April asked. I groaned. Here we go again. "Hmm…how about Thunder?" She asked. Elekid nodded.

"Sure. Whatever you want's ok with me." He said. April smiled.

"Then I'll call you Thunder. Thunder, meet Mars." April said, pointing to me.

"Hello." He said, sticking his hand out.

"Hi." I said, ignoring the outstretched hand. "Don't get upset if I don't shake your hand." I said. Elekid shrugged, lowering his hand.

"Fine with me. I was just going to shock you anyways." He said, and April withdrew him, standing up. Weird Elekid. The one's I'd met were either angry or hyperactive. This one seemed more passive than anything.

"Let's go. I want to get to Viridian by sunset." April said. I nodded and followed her. The walk to Viridian was long and uneventful, besides the occasional Spearow flying up into the air no other Pokémon were moving around. We reached the Pokémon center just as the sun was setting, and April was getting nervous. "I don't like cities." She muttered. I nodded in agreement, watching the hundreds of humans rushing about, either in cars or on foot. I shuddered, remembering that this wasn't even the biggest city in Kanto. I couldn't imagine what the other cities would be like. It'd be a nightmare. We walked into the Pokémon center, where the noise of the city was almost non-existent. About ten total people were inside. April approached the nurse at the counter.

"Hello, sweetie. What can I do for you?" The nurse asked.

"H-Hi, nurse Joy. Can you heal my Pokémon?" April asked, staring at the countertop. The nurse smiled warmly, and I could see April begin to perk up. Joy must have that effect on people. She reminded me of either a Togekiss or a Blissey.

"Of course I can. If you'll just hand them here, I'll take care of them." Joy said. April smiled and handed the nurse Thunder's pokeball. "Thank you. And if you could have you're Absol come with me, I'll take care of him too." I shook my head.

"No." I said. "I'm fine." April shook her head too.

"N-no, he's ok. He's not very sociable." April said. Joy smiled at me.

"Oh, that's ok. I'm sure he'll warm up to people soon enough." She said, and put Thunder's pokeball in a strange machine. She clicked a button and it began to whirr. The machine next to it beeped, and the nurse removed a pokeball.

"James? Your Ralts is ready." The nurse called. A boy with short cropped brown hair walked up. He wore a grey t shirt and a blue backpack, and took the pokeball quickly, with a muttered word of thanks. He hurried off, and I narrowed my eyes. Was it just me, or was that boy also making my horn tingle? I shook my head. No, that can't be. It must be April again. "Poor kid. That's his third time trying to go through the Viridian Forest. The bug Pokémon keep getting his poor Ralts." Joy said. There was a beep, and Joy returned Thunder's pokeball.

"Thank you. Can we get a room too?" April asked. Joy nodded and smiled.

"Of course. Here, I'll get you a key. You're room number 12." Joy said. April said thank you again, took the key, and we headed towards a door that was labeled 'rooms.' I'd heard somewhere that Pokémon centers were also hotels for trainers because of how young trainers started their journeys. We walked past the boy, who was muttering something and staring at his pokeball. I watched him as we walked by, and dismissed him just as quickly. It was April making my horn tingle, of that, I was sure.


	4. Chapter 4

**And here begins the POV changes. They are marked by POV CHANGE. **

I woke with a start, my horn waking me up with a jolt of urgency. Something was wrong. I looked around the room, half expecting to see immediate danger. It was dark and small, with nothing but a bed, a chair, and a nightstand. I slept on the floor while April slept in the small one-person bed. Thunder was lying on the chair, asleep. My horn sent another jolt of urgency through me, and I stood up. The danger was…. a mile and a half away, to the north. I walked over to the door and pressed down on the handle, opening it. I slipped out into the dimly lit hallway and walked towards the reception area. The reception area was mostly empty, the only signs of life being the lights illuminating the room. My horn began to tingle wildly now, and I cursed.

"What's wrong?" A Blissey asked, startling me. She was wearing a white nurse's apron, and holding her signature egg in a pouch.

"Not sure yet. There's-" I was cut off by my horn sending another jolt of urgency through me. "Be prepared to receive some Pokémon." I said quickly, and ran out of the Pokémon center. The night was cool and crisp, and strangely quiet. It was probably around 2 or 3 in the morning, and no one was out. I raced across the town, dodging in and out of alleys until I exited the city. About one hundred yards from the edge of town was the Viridian Forest, where my horn said the danger was coming from. I raced off into the night, dashing through the trees.

POV CHANGE: Ralts

I lay on the ground, utterly defeated. Three Beedrill hovered over me and my partner, who was trying to fend them off with a stick. I felt so useless. All I'd managed to do was KO one Beedrill. This was the fourth time this had happened too, if it wasn't for my partner James, I'd be long dead. I didn't understand why he didn't just give up on me. I was useless, after all.

"Don't worry, buddy. We'll get out of this." James said. I looked up at him. He had managed to fend the Beedrill off with a stick, but I didn't know how long that would last.

"KILL." The Beedrill buzzed. I shuddered.

"I'm sorry I got us into this mess again." James said. "But we'll get out of it, I promise." He sounded to be reassuring himself as much as he was reassuring me.

"_More."_ I looked around in surprise. Who had said that? There was a low buzz, and a dozen more Beedrill rose up out of the trees, heading straight towards us. James cursed and dropped his stick, picking me up.

"We've gotta go." He muttered. I could sense he was afraid, but we were both powerless to do anything about it. He took off into the forest, but the Beedrill were closing in on us fast. The murderous intent radiating from them was almost overwhelming. What had we done to rile them up so much? They had attacked out of nowhere while we slept. Suddenly, James tripped, and we were sent tumbling over one another. The Beedrill surrounded us, buzzing murderously.

"KILL." They buzzed. I tried to struggle to my feet, but to no avail.

"W-Wait!" I said, but knew it was already too late. The Beedrill would kill us both. As if on cue, the Beedrill dove towards us, their stingers outstretched. James leapt over the top of me, protecting me. I closed my eyes and concentrated. If I could just squeeze out a confusion…..

"Now, now. What's got you guys so riled up?" Someone said. James stood up, still holding me. I looked around, and saw that an Absol was standing in between us and the Beedrill. Two Beedrill were encased in ice on the ground, and the remaining nine were flitting around nervously.

"KILL." They buzzed tentatively. Absol fired a razor wind at them, scattering the remaining Beedrill, and turned to us, shaking his head.

"You two ought to know better than to enter a forest at night." He said. His red eyes glared at both of us, hiding a sense of amusement behind his external glare. "Some really nasty Pokémon can pop out at night, escpecially in a forest like this one." I searched his emotions. He wasn't a happy Pokémon, but he wasn't necessarily a depressed or mean one either. The way he stood was relaxed, yet at the same time he appeared ready to fight. A thin white line ran down his front left leg, and I realized it was a scar. His head twitched to the side, and he frowned, turning around.

"_More." _The voice said again. I shuddered and watched in horror as at least thirty Beedrill came barreling towards us. Multiple other Pokémon came at us from the ground, including Spinarak, a few Skorupi, and even a Yanma and Scyther. All of them were radiating murderous intent.

"Well that's not good. Run." Absol said, and started to run. James followed him.

POV CHANGE: Mars

I ran alongside the boy, who I recognized as the one from the Pokémon center. The army of bug Pokémon behind us was catching up quickly. We probably wouldn't reach the edge of the forest by the time they did. If I only knew what Pokémon was controlling them…A Beedrill flew down in front of us and I leapt into action. I sprinted forwards and jumped off of a log, knocking down the Beedrill with a quick attack. _Tsk. That voice, whoever it was, is the one controlling these Pokémon. The ringleader can't be too far away. _I noted, letting the boy catch up. I took that time to slow down the bugs with an ice beam.

"Hey, can you use confusion?" I asked the Ralts in the boy's arms, matching the boy's speed. She shook her head.

"No, not right now." She said weakly. "I can't do much of anything…" I muttered a curse to myself and kept running. Our only choice would be to get out of the forest somehow. I'd have to hold off the army. I cursed again and glanced behind us. The bugs were getting closer.

"Oh, if only humans were faster." I muttered. The edge of the forest was about two hundred yards away. I could easily reach it in time, but the bugs would overtake the boy. I sighed and stopped, whirling around and releasing a razor wind.

"W-what are you doing?" Ralts asked. I growled at the bugs in defiance, trying to startle them.

"Get out of the forest. I'll hold them off." I said. The boy stopped running to look at me.

"Come on! We're almost there!" He said. I fired an ice beam, freezing the trees and ground directly in front of me. The Pokémon on the ground leapt back startled, and the flying Pokémon stopped to glare at me. It would give us five seconds, at the most.

"GO!" I roared. "I'll be fine. I'm an Absol; it's my job to protect others." I said, jerking my head towards the edge of the trees. The boy nodded, realizing what I meant.

"I'll bring help!" He yelled and ran off into the trees. The bugs didn't chase them, instead they circled me.

"You know, you guys are really beginning to _bug _me." I said. They spoke in one voice.

"KILL. YOU INTERFERED. WE MUST KILL YOU." They said. I growled.

"Buzz off. Unless you want to end up frozen." I snapped. The bugs surged forwards, and I attacked. A razor wind ripped through them, causing Beedrill to run into each other while I froze an entire line of Spinarak. Something hit my side and I was sent tumbling over, cursing. Someone had hit me with a pin missile attack. A Beedrill dive bombed me and struck me with a poison sting. I returned the favor by freezing it.

"KILL." A Scyther said, and struck me with fury attack repeatedly. I broke free from the onslaught and hit it with quick attack. It stumbled backwards and I hit it with a razor wind, sending it stumbling backwards. I cursed when it stood up. I wouldn't last much longer. There was a sudden surge, and, despite my best efforts, the bugs swarmed over me.

POV CHANGE: Ralts.

I opened my eyes, realizing that Absol was gone. His presence had been hidden from me under the swirling masses of bug Pokémon. James was muttering to himself, and I closed my eyes again. He was afraid, but also wanted to go back and help Absol. We were out of the forest now, and running towards the Pokémon center in Viridian. The streets were dead silent, almost in anticipation of what was to come next. We burst into the Pokémon center, and I immediately detected anxiety and worry. A girl was at the counter in her pajamas, talking to Joy. An Elekid was standing next to her. She whirled around when we entered; hope igniting in her for a second, which was quickly replaced by disappointment.

"Nurse Joy! Please take care of Ralts!" James said. Joy looked at James in disappointment.

"Now what did I say about going into the forest at night?" She chided him. Blissey looked at me worriedly.

"Did you happen to run into an Absol on the way back?" Blissey asked. I nodded.

"Yes. He's in the forest now, fighting off some bug Pokémon and needs help." I said. Worry crossed Blissey's face, and she turned to Joy, tugging at her apron.

"I'm sorry, I can't talk now, I've got to go back and help Absol!" James said, handing me to Joy. The girl's mouth dropped.

"Absol? That must be Mars! I'm coming with you." She said. She recalled her Elekid and followed James out the door at a sprint. I wanted nothing more than to go with them, but I knew that in my current condition I'd just get in the way. Joy muttered something worriedly.

"Blissey, you take care of Ralts. I'm going to contact Officer Jenny." Joy said.

"That won't be necessary." Another voice said. "I'll go after them." He said. I turned to look at the boy. He was about 16 or 17, with ruffled black hair. A red baseball hat sat on his head, and a Charizard stood next to him.

"Are you sure?" Joy asked. The boy nodded. "Thank you." Nurse Joy said. The boy grinned at her. I found it almost impossible to read him.

"Sure. C'mon, Jake." He said, and calmly walked out the door. Nurse Joy picked me up and sighed.

"Alright, Ralts. Let's get you fixed up." She said, and recalled me into my pokeball.

POV CHANGE: Mars

The bugs swarmed off of me with a hiss, and I slowly stood up. My body ached, and I could feel that I was badly poisoned. It was a miracle I hadn't fainted yet.

"Hello." A voice hissed. I looked up, and found myself staring straight into the face of an Ariados. I growled weakly.

"What do you want?" I snapped. It laughed maliciously.

"Oh, I just want to be the one to finish you off." Ariados said.

"Good luck." I said. "You won't finish me off that easily." He laughed.

"Don't worry, it'll be quick. Besides, if you try to put up a fight, I'll just have my subordinates weaken you more." Ariados said. It slowly dawned on me that he must be the one pulling the strings. "You know, I've heard about you. The lone Absol in the Kanto region. You've caused quite a stir, coming here. Many Pokémon think that your appearance heralds the oncoming of many natural disasters. Is that true?" I shook my head.

"No." I said. "I'm here because I want to be." Ariados grinned wickedly.

"I thought so. Then I'll be able to kill you without any repercussions!" He said gleefully. It was this moment of elation that I struck, knocking him back with a pursuit. Ariados tumbled and I fired a razor wind. He dodged quickly. "You dare to-" I cut him off with an ice beam, freezing his legs to the ground. Suddenly his face was filled with fear.

"This is a lesson to you. Don't attack innocents anymore, or I will kill you." I said.

"Well?! Don't just stand there! Kill him!" Ariados screamed. The bugs surged forwards, but it was too late. Razor wind smashed into Ariados, sending him tumbling backwards, KO'd. There was a flash of light, and a Yanma fell to the ground. The rest of the bugs flitted backwards.

"Nice, Thunder!" April shouted. I cursed her. She shouldn't have come after me. Laughter filled the air, and five more Ariados appeared in the trees. April, Thunder, and the boy who I had _told _to go to the Pokémon center appeared, forming a circle around me.

"Congratulations on beating one of us." One of the Ariados hissed. "It's of no consequence, though. You will soon all perish. The fact that two humans and an Elekid came to rescue you makes no difference."

"Yeah? I'd like to see you try and get through me." Thunder said calmly. My right leg buckled, and I fell to the ground.

"Don't worry, Mars. I'll get you out of here." April said.

"Get out of here." I said weakly, struggling up to my feet again. "There's too many. I'll hold them off." I said. Thunder laughed nervously.

"Don't be acting all macho. You can barely stand." He said. I closed my eyes.

"Fine. Since you won't leave; aim for the Ariados. They appear to be the ringleaders." I said. Elekid nodded and whirled his arms, electricity crackling around him. Just before he fired, an enormous roar shook the forest. Everything froze at once, and out of the sky descended a Charizard, a human on his back. He landed with a thud, and spoke one word.

"Go." And the entire forest ran in fear. I shuddered. This Charizard commanded your attention; his mere presence caused me to shudder inwardly. The human leapt off of Charizard with a grin on his face. He had a red hat.

"Hello! My name is Red, and I'm the Champion of the Kanto region. Now, how about we get you all back to the Pokémon center?" He said. My legs fell out from under me, and I blacked out.


	5. Chapter 5

Mars POV:

I glared at the wall, listening to the quiet buzz of the world outside. I was lying in a bed, having been carried to the Pokémon center by Red and his Charizard, Jake. Nurse Joy and Blissey had fixed me up before I regained consciousness. My body was perfectly fixed, but my pride was severely injured. To think, not only was I taken down by a few measly bug Pokémon, but I had to be rescued by April, Thunder, and that punk Red. I growled to myself and stood up. Time to quit sulking. The door to my room was open, and I leapt off the bed with a wince. The aftereffects of the poison were still wearing off. Down the hall, I could hear voices talking. Joy was talking with April and the other kid, who was glancing anxiously at both Joy and April. April looked close to tears.

"You two should be ashamed of yourselves. Endangering your Pokémon like that….it's not right." She said. Red was laying on a couch, looking completely relaxed and oblivious to all else but the blade of grass he was twirling through his fingers. Jake was snoring in the corner of the building, causing the glass to rattle. Blissey was the first to notice me, and came rushing over.

"Hey! You should be in bed, resting!" She said. I shrugged.

"I'm fine. Just ready to get out of here." I said. Blissey shook her head.

"No, you're not fully healed yet. You need to get back into bed and rest until the poison wears off." She said.

"I said I'm fine." I said, my tone steely. "And there is no way you will get me back into that room." At this point, April noticed me, and came rushing over.

"Mars! You're awake! Oh, I'm so glad you're ok." She said, giving me a hug. My instincts told me to pull away, but I restrained myself. "Don't ever run off like that again. I was so worried about you." She whispered. My heart panged, and I sighed. I didn't think about how my actions would've affected her.

"Sorry. And….thanks for coming after me." I muttered, hoping Blissey wouldn't overhear. I'm not the sappy type, but there are times when it feels necessary. April let go and stared right into my eyes. I looked away.

"Ok, that's enough. Now, you need to go back to your room." Blissey said, grabbing me to pull me away. I growled, glaring at Blissey, who glared back at me, arms crossed.

"Is there a problem here?" A voice boomed. Jake was suddenly looming over me, wings slightly spread, and glaring at me intensely. His eyes invoked every fear in my heart, and I restrained myself from cowering. Instead, I cast a critical eye and looked him up and down. I had heard of a Champion's Pokémon, they were famous even to wild Pokémon for their power and prowess.

"So, you're a Champion's Pokémon, huh?" I asked. Jake tensed, and nodded slowly.

"Yeah. What of it?" He asked. His voice was booming, almost a roar at speaking level.

"I'm not impressed." I said, shaking my head. "It's like you're not even here." I said. Jake studied me for minute before laughing.

"And this is coming from the Absol who got his butt kicked by a few bug Pokémon." He said.

"Meh." I said with a shrug. "I was letting them win." I said. Jake laughed again, a full guttural roar that made me cringe.

"I like you! You've got spunk!" He said, and winked at Blissey. "Don't worry about him, I'm sure he's fine. I did the same thing my first time in Viridian, if you remember." Jake said. Blissey sighed and shook her head.

"Yes, I remember. You tried to attack an entire hive of Beedrill, and burnt down half the forest in the process. Fine. You can go, Mars." Blissey said with a sigh. I nodded my thanks, and nudged April, who was staring up at Jake in awe. Jake nodded and lumbered back towards Red.

"C'mon. We need to talk to that idiot over there." I said, indicating the boy. Red was talking to Joy, diffusing the situation in the same way that Jake calmed down Blissey. April stood up and led me over to the boy, who glanced at her nervously.

"T-this is Mars." April said. "I just thought you'd like to meet him. H-he did save you, after all. Mars, meet James." James knelt down and grinned at me.

"Hey, thanks for your help in the forest. We wouldn't have made it out of there without your help. Which reminds me, you haven't met Ralts yet, have you?" He asked. I shook my head. "Alright, then you're about to meet him. Go, Ralts!" Ralts appeared in front of me, and smiled.

"Thank you for saving us." She said. I glanced between James and Ralts.

"Uh, you're a girl, right?" I asked. She nodded. "Ok, then why'd James call you him?" I asked. She sighed and shook her head.

"Well, you see…" She began.

"Oh, cool! So this is your Ralts. I've never seen one before." April said. James shifted his feet nervously.

"Uh, yeah, that's my Ralts." He said. "He, uh, I'm going to evolve him into a, uh, Gallade." James said. April nodded and pulled out her pokedex.

"He's not very good around girls, so when he got me for his first Pokémon, he automatically assumed I was a boy." Ralts said. My jaw dropped.

"Are you serious?" I asked.

"You said Ralts is a boy?" April asked, staring intently at the pokedex screen. James nodded, and didn't say anything, refusing to get too close to April. Maybe Ralts wasn't kidding. "Well, it says here the he's actually a girl." April said. James acted like he was struck by a thunderbolt, his jaw dropping and his eyes going wide.

"Is that true?" He asked, turning to Ralts. Ralts nodded, and James put his face into his hands, shaking his head. "My life is a lie!" He cried, and then jerked back up, hope back on his face. "At least I'll still get a Gallade!" He said.

"Ok, is he really this stupid, or is he just acting that way?" I asked. Ralts just sighed and shook her head.

"Uh, no, actually, Ralts has to be male to evolve into Gallade." April said. Horror struck James.

"You're kidding, right?" He said. April shook her head, and James groaned, sitting down and facing the wall. "Why do I even try?" He muttered. Ralts just shook her head.

"Shouldn't you do something?" I asked.

"No, give it a few seconds. He'll snap out of it. Actually, I'm surprised he isn't acting up more around April." She said.

"Don't know what to tell you." I said. James jumped up then, a big grin on his face.

"Oh well. There's nothing I can do to change that. Now, Ralts, are you ready to tackle the forest? This time it'll end up well, I know it." He said. I decided then and there that James was, in fact, stupid. Ralts shook her head and opened her mouth to say something.

"It will be if you team up with April." Red said, suddenly appearing behind me. I jumped and whirled around, growling. "Woah there buddy. Calm down. Anyways, since you both have Pokémon that are weak to bug types, it'd benefit you both if you traveled together. Besides, traveling without other people can get pretty boring." He said. James turned pale and slid up next to him.

"But, she's a _girl._" James said. I looked at Ralts.

"You weren't kidding." I said.

"Nope." She said. Red just laughed and ruffled James' hair.

"You're funny, kid. I'll be waiting for you two in Pewter, so don't keep me waiting. And you two had better be traveling together." He warned, and walked out of the Pokémon center, Jake close behind. Jake let Red climb onto his back, and they took off, wheeling into the sky. James muttered something incomprehensible, looked at April, blushed, and turned towards the door.

"Fine. Come on then." He grumbled. April nodded nervously and walked up next to him.

"A-alright then…" She trialed off and James nodded. I followed the two of them out the door, Ralts close behind. I sighed. Time for another 'adventure.'

Three hours later: Close to the end of the Viridian Forest.

I muttered a curse, knocking down the tenth Beedrill that day. For the most part, I encouraged Ralts to take over, so that she could train. She needed it, and had KO'd at least fifteen different opponents. Still, she couldn't handle all of them. Thunder had also taken some down, but he had battle two trainers already, and was exhausted because of it. That left me to pick up the slack.

"Nice, Mars! That's number ten!" April said happily. I walked over to where she and James were sitting, having lunch. James had warmed up to April a little, making the walk less awkward, which was fine with me. I lay down next to Thunder, who was happily chowing down on a bunch of Pokémon food. I ignored mine, instead opting for some berries I had found. "Hey, Ralts is your only Pokémon, right?" April asked. James nodded.

"Yep." He mumbled through a sandwich.

"Then why don't you catch a Beedrill?" She asked. James shook his head.

"No, they're a dime a dozen. I'd rather wait until a different Pokémon comes along." James said. As if on cue, a Nidoran popped out of the forest, not twenty feet in front of us. It was light blue, making it a female. Ralts nudged James, and he looked up. "Speaking of which, isn't that a Nidoran?" He asked. April nodded.

"Yes." She said.

"Awesome! Don't they evolve into Nidoking?" He asked. April nodded again.

"W-well, yes, but that's-" April began. She didn't finish because James leapt up, suddenly excited.

"Alright! Ralts, let's finish this in one shot! Use confusion!" James shouted. Nidoran looked at him, with a look that plainly said '_seriously?'_ She glowed blue as Ralts lifted her into the air and slammed her on the ground. James threw a pokeball, and it sucked Nidoran in. It rolled three times and blinked, indicating a capture.

"Are all Pokémon this easy to catch?" I asked Thunder. He shrugged and went back to eating.

"I let myself get captured, so I don't know." He said between bites.

"Uh, James? That Nidoran won't evolve into a Nidoking. The light blue Nidoran are female, so she'll evolve into Nidoqueen." April said. Ralts smiled and shook her head. James just gaped at April, and then at the pokeball.

"NO WAY!" James cried, and slammed his head against a tree. "Why do I always have to catch _girls?" _He muttered. I grinned and shook my head. It was quite funny to watch. James sighed and let Nidoran out of her pokeball. "Still, I caught a Nidoran, even if it is a girl." He said with a sigh. Nidoran responded by slamming her horn into James' shin. "Ow!" he yelled, and hopped around on one foot, holding his injured shin.

"What's wrong with being a girl, huh?!" Nidoran yelled.

"See?! Girls are mean!" James shouted, pointing at Nidoran and looking at April for validation. Then it dawned on him that April was a girl too. "AARGH! Mars! You know what I'm talking about, right?!" He asked, looking to me hopefully. I grinned and shook my head.

"My trainer's a girl, so I can't take your side on this." I said. James stared at me, open mouthed, and then slammed his forehead against a tree again.

"Why do I even try?" He muttered. Nidoran glanced at Ralts.

"Is he always like this?" She asked. Ralts nodded.

"Pretty much. It gets worse around girls." Ralts said. Nidoran sighed.

"Great. Of all the trainers to get caught by, I get stuck with the oddball." She muttered. April laughed and stood up, shouldering her pack.

"You're funny, James." She said. James looked up from the tree.

"I am?" He asked.

"Yep. Here, let's get going." April said, handing James his pack. Thunder picked up the rest of his food, and stood up.

"Thanks." James muttered, and they started walking. I stood up with a sigh and followed them, completely unaware to the two people watching us from above.

POV CHANGE: Jake

"I wonder why he's so interested in those two." Red muttered. I shrugged.

"I don't know." I said with a grunt. Red nodded and sighed.

"Alright, well, let's get to Viridian before they do." He said. I nodded and dove towards the city, asking the same question as Red. Why _was _heinterested in those two?


	6. Chapter 6

**And this chapter marks the beginning of the true plot. What is it you ask? Spoilers. ;) Enjoy!**

Mars POV

We reached the Pokémon center in Pewter city around 1, and were now waiting for Joy to finish fixing up the others. James was sleeping on a couch, while April insisted on trying to brush my hair. I refused this, however, and found myself being chased by her around the Pokémon center.

"Get back here!" She called, brandishing a blue comb.

"No! Get away from me!" I called back, running around the couch James was sleeping on. April leapt over the couch, stepping on James in the process.

"Hey!" He protested. I dodged to the side, causing April to crash on the ground.

"Ow…" She said, holding her knee. Slightly concerned, I walked up to her. I realized too late what she was doing. She flashed forwards with a devilish grin and grabbed me around the neck. "Gotcha!" She said. I tried jerking away, but she held firm. The comb touched my white mane, and I started jumping around, trying to shake her off. "Hey! Stop that! Let me comb you!" She said. I ignored her and managed to free myself, racing around to the opposite end of the center. April glared at me from across the room.

"I think I'm starting to agree with James. Women are mean." I muttered.

"What was that?" Someone next to me said. I jumped in surprise and glared at the new visitor. A Vulpix was curled up underneath the leaves of a potted plant.

"Where'd you come from?" I asked, leaning forward to examine Vulpix. It seemed pretty roughed up, with matted fur and large bags under its eyes. The Vulpix yawned and stood up, stretching.

"I was right here the whole time. Now, what was it that you said about girls?" The Vulpix asked. It dawned on me that this Vulpix must be female. There was a sound behind me, and Vulpix cursed, sinking back into the shadows. "Do you mind not bothering me?" She asked. I nodded and turned around, respecting the Vulpix. I assumed she was wild and was camping out in the Pokémon center as a safe place to stay.

"Yo! You two ready for your first gym challenge?" Red asked, walking up to April, who was attempting to sneak up on me. James sat up, suddenly interested. "I've got the gym leader here all riled up about your battle, so you'd better get a move on." He said. I approached April cautiously, who was starting to stammer.

"G-gym battle? O-oh. Right." She said. "W-well, I haven't gotten Thunder back from Joy yet…" She said.

"April and James? You're Pokémon are ready." Nurse Joy called. April turned around to look at her, and James jumped up, running to her.

"Awesome! Alright, now that that's squared away, let's get on over to the gym. I want to see how well you two do against someone at Brock's level." Red said. April nodded and took Thunder's pokeball from Joy. Red and James walked outside.

"Come on Mars." She said quietly. I nodded and followed her, glancing back at the Vulpix. She held up one paw from the shadows, indicating for me to be quite. I shrugged and walked out the door.

We strode into the door of the gym, James practically running to the arena, and April slowly trudging in behind Red. Red grabbed James before he could take the stage, holding him back.

"Woah, there. Let's have the lady go first, shall we?" Red said. James sighed and nodded, with a muttered 'ok.' "Alright then. April, you ready? Good! Go get your first gym badge!" Red proclaimed, and marched James over to the stands. April looked at me nervously.

"Y-you ready?" April asked me, looking down at me. She was shifting nervously from foot to foot, and could hardly keep herself from trembling. She then dropped her head, looking at the ground. "Maybe I should back out…I-I don't want to…I don't want to look…." She muttered. I growled at her, deciding then and there to help her with her confidence issues. I hadn't realized they were this bad.

"Let's go." I said, and walked out onto the rocky battlefield. April stared at me from the doorway.

"M-Mars…" She said.

"C'mon, we haven't got all day. It's time for you to get a bit more confident." I said. April nodded and walked into the arena. Everything was quiet, and the opposite end was dark. I glared into the shadows, half expecting someone to burst out of them, fully prepared to battle. Suddenly, the arena was lit up, and the gym leader burst through a metal door, looking like he just woke up. He was tan, with spikey brown hair, and a white doctor's coat.

"Yo! Sorry, I was just catching some shuteye. There was an emergency at the Pokémon center last night, so I was up for the entire night. Anyways, the name's Brock, this town's gym leader, and a Pokémon doctor. And you must be one of the challenger's Red was telling me about. Since this region's champion recommended you, don't expect me to take it easy on you." He said. I blinked in surprise at the man. He wasn't what I expected from a gym leader. "Absol's your first choice, huh? Then I choose Steelix." Brock said, and sent out the large, snake-like creature that glared at me.

"Woah, woah. Wait a second. I thought this was a rock type gym? Why the steel type?" Red said. Brock shrugged.

"Where have you been, Red? After Blue took over the Viridian gym, I reclassified this gym as a ground type gym so I could use all of my buddies." Brock explained. "You ready to go, Steelix?"

"Yes." Steelix grunted, and nodded at me. "I'm not going to take it easy on you." He said. I shrugged in response.

"Fine." I said. The announcer took the stands, said a few words, two Pokémon each, blah, blah, blah, and…begin.

"Mars, use razor wind." April said. I launched my attack, which Steelix took head on without even flinching. I leapt out of the way as Steelix's tail smashed down where I had been standing.

"U-use quick attack." April said. I ran headfirst into Steelix, who just laughed and shook his head.

"You aren't going to get anywhere like that." He said. I growled and leapt backwards, dodging another sweep of his tail.

"You're telling me." I grumbled.

"Freeze his tail to the ground." April said. I charged an ice beam and fired, encasing Steelix's tail in ice. He laughed and swung his tail again, easily breaking it free.

"Sandstorm." Brock said. I cursed as Steelix fired a swirling mass of sand at me. "Follow it up with head-butt." Steelix burst through the sand, slamming into me and sending me flying. I tumbled across the rocky field, and slowly stood up. My breath was ragged, and I glared at Steelix. That was one powerful head-butt. If I took another hit like that, I'd be a goner.

"A little help here?" I asked. April muttered something to herself, and then glared at Steelix.

"Ice beam. Aim for the head." April said. I leapt out of the way of another iron tail, simultaneously charging an ice beam. I fired, freezing Steelix's head in a block of ice. "Freeze the rest of him." April said. I grunted and fired again, freezing the entirety of Steelix's body in ice, all the while dodging his thrashing tail. When he was completely encased in ice, I finally relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. I was glad that I hadn't taken more damage. The ice began to crack, and I stiffened.

"Use iron tail to break free!" Brock called. I cursed, watching as the ice block began to crack.

"Use razor wind repeatedly!" April said. I whipped my head forwards, releasing razor wind after razor wind. The ice shattered after the third blow, and Steelix crashed to the ground, barely able to raise his head. I stopped my assault, and Brock grunted with approval.

"Nicely done. But how will you handle my next Pokémon, as tired as your Absol is?" Brock said. Steelix winked at me as it was withdrawn.

"You sure do pack a punch, kid." He said, and disappeared in a flash of red light. My breath was hard and ragged, and I could feel myself sweating. I wouldn't last much longer, but I growled and prepared myself anyways.

"Go, Golem!" Brock said. The large boulder of a Pokémon appeared in front of me, and grinned.

"How's it going? Beating Steelix is quite a feat. I can't wait to fight you." He said. I shuddered, feeling my limbs begin to ache, and sighed.

"Won't be much of a fight, I'm afraid Steelix got me pretty good with that head-butt of his." I said.

"Mar's, come back." April said. I restrained myself from sighing with relief, and walked back to April's side. Her trembling had stopped, and she was now staring intently at Golem, deciding her next move. I lay down next to her, and stared out at Golem, who was cracking his knuckles. It would be a hard fight for Thunder, even if he did know karate chop. "Alright, Thunder. Let's do this." She said, tossing Thunder out. He appeared on the battlefield, and twirled his arms, creating a small amount of electricity. April's eyes lit up suddenly, and I wondered what she was planning. "Alright, Thunder. Generate as much electricity as you can." April said. Thunder looked back at her in confusion, shrugged, and then started whirling his arms.

"Golem, use rollout." Brock said. Golem tucked itself into a ball, and barreled straight towards Thunder, who was still twirling his arms. He tensed, prepared to dodge.

"Now, Thunder! Use karate chop while twirling your arms!" Thunder nodded, and jumped forwards, clashing with Golem. Their difference in power was obvious, Golem was obviously more powerful than Thunder. However, Thunder kept twirling his arms, the sheer amount of blows he was delivering countering Golem's massive power. Golem stopped rolling, glaring at Thunder, who kept twirling his arms, landing blow after blow.

"Bulldoze, Golem!" Brock called. Golem smashed his fists into the ground, causing it to shake violently. Thunder stumbled backwards, freeing Golem from the barrage. "Now, follow it up with another rollout!" Brock called. Golem launched himself forwards, slamming into Thunder, who was literally sent flying.

"No! Thunder!" April called. Thunder landed on the ground, KO'd. I sighed and stood up, feeling slightly better after my short rest. April recalled Thunder. "Ok, Mars. It's up to you." She said. I nodded and stepped onto the battlefield. Golem was breathing hard.

"Looks like we're even now." I said. Golem nodded and grinned at me, cracking his knuckles.

"Looks like we are." He said.

"Golem! Don't give them any ground! Use rockslide!" Golem raised his arms into the air, and the portals of light opened above me, raining down boulders from hell. I cursed and leapt around, dodging the boulders, which also left me trapped in a maze of boulders. "Now, use rollout!"

"Charge an ice beam and fire on my mark!" April called. I nodded and did as she asked, holding back an ice beam. I could feel it getting more powerful as I held it, and hoped April would call it soon. If I waited too long, it would discharge in my face. Then Golem appeared, crashing through the rocks. "Now!" April said. I fired, freezing Golem on the spot. "Break him free with a pursuit." She said. I nodded and slammed into the ice, shattering it. Golem collapsed onto the ground, KO'd. I grinned at him.

"Nice job." I said. He grunted, and Brock recalled him, scratching the back of his head and approaching April. I walked back to her side, watching as Brock handed her a badge.

"I guess Red wasn't kidding when he said you were strong. Even though I was holding back, you still might've given me a run for my money if I went all out." He said.

"Y-you were taking it easy?" April asked. Brock nodded and smiled.

"Yep. Sorry about that, but I did go around traveling and training for a few years. My Pokémon are strong, even for a gym leader's, so I do end up going easy on most of my challengers. Still, good job! Now, I guess your friend would be next?" He asked, motioning for James to come to the stage. We swapped places, and I lay down next to April, watching the match through half closed eyes. I was tired, and couldn't wait to get to bed.

POV CHANGE: Suicune

I watched Mar's match with the aid of Mew's psychic powers. The image was slightly distorted, but that's what you got from attempting to watch something so far away. Mew and I were near the top of Mount Moon.

"Well, he's strong, I'll give him that." I grunted. Mew giggled.

"Of course he is. I told you, didn't I? Especially for one his age." Mew said. I nodded, and sighed, feeling a nice cold wind blowing from the north. Those were always pleasant.

"How old did you say he was, again?" I asked. Mew giggled again.

"12. Geez, Suicune, you must be getting old or something. I only told you two months ago." Mew said. I grunted.

"Shut it." I said, and sighed, watching the ongoing match. The one called James was battling with his newly caught Nidoran, who was fending off a Graveler with its double kick. The Graveler was blown backwards by another double kick, this time landing on the ground for good. I shook my head, thinking back to Mars. "Hmph. Well, I wonder what he'd do when confronted with an opponent much stronger than him…" I mused. Mew giggled, and shook its head.

"Dunno. Oooh! Nidoran just got KO'd." She said. I nodded, examining the Swampert Brock had just sent out. It seemed strong, and James sent out his Ralts to counter.

"Finally. The one you called me here to see, Mew." Darkrai said, emerging from the shadows behind me. I shuddered. That guy gave me the creeps, even if we both were legendaries. "Looks strong enough…" He mused, watching as Ralts tossed Swampert across the room with a confusion.

"Maybe you oughta test him, Suicune." Mew said absently, going back to my previous statement. I nodded in agreement. "Maybe Tyranitar. He still owes you for saving him." Mew said. I nodded. That's true. Plus, Tyranitar resided in Mount moon, which made him much closer than any other candidates. Darkrai let out a chuckle, which was very unlike him.

"Would you look at that. She's still young, and yet Ralts is evolving." He said. I noticed that he was right. Ralts evolved into Kirlia, gaining the move magical leaf, which also gave her the power necessary to overcome Swampert. Darkrai grunted. "I like her personality so far, too." He muttered. Kirlia was now chasing James across the gym, as he scrambled to get away from her more feminine form. Swampert had been defeated, without showing even half of its true power. I grunted and turned away, becoming uninterested with what Mew was now showing.

"I'm going to go prepare Tyranitar. I want to test Mars. If he does favorably…." I left it at that, knowing that the other two understood my meaning. _Mars…perhaps you will…_I mused, and raced down the mountain.


	7. Chapter 7

I lay in the Pokémon center, watching as James was chased by Kirlia, who had recently evolved, around the room. We had been treated not long ago, and now I was back to being fighting fit. Thunder watched the antics of James and Kirlia too, sitting beside me.

"Is he acting like that on purpose?" Thunder asked, as James was tackled to the ground by Kirlia. I sighed and shook my head, watching as he wriggled out of her grasp and recalled her before she could grab him again. He stood up, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Don't know. I would bet that Kirlia's acting that way to tease him, though. She thinks his reaction is hilarious." I muttered. Something caught James' eye, and he headed towards the potted plants where the Vulpix was hiding.

"Hey! Lookey here." He said, leaning forwards. There was a puff of smoke, and James leapt backwards, holding Vulpix. The front of his hair was singed, and Vulpix was glaring at him.

"Put. Me. Down." She growled. Nurse Joy looked up and smiled.

"Oh, there you are, Vulpix." She said. James looked over at her.

"You know this Vulpix?" He asked. Vulpix bit him on the hand, causing him to drop her, and ran over to Nurse Joy, who picked her up.

"Yes. She's been here for the past three months, waiting for her trainer to return. Unfortunately, I received a call from her trainer about a week ago, telling me to release her because he didn't want Vulpix anymore." Joy said, and looked down at Vulpix fondly. "But I just couldn't bring myself to release her. She's such a sweet Pokémon." She said. James rubbed his hand ruefully.

"Could've fooled me." He muttered, and approached Vulpix, who glared at him.

"Mars, Thunder, you ready?" April called. I turned around to look at her. She was dressed in her pajama's, which were pink, and had just gotten out of the shower. I stood up and nodded, following her and Thunder into our room for the night. A strange sense of foreboding fell over me as April turned out the lights. I lay on the floor and closed my eyes, but was unable to fall asleep.

My eyes snapped open, and I beheld the dark room. My breath was shallow and ragged. Was I just having a nightmare? I shook my head and stood up, looking around. Thunder was curled up on the bed with April, who was sleeping fitfully. She kicked her legs, and sat bolt upright, eyes wide open, and staring at me. She mouthed something and then fell back into her bed, still fast asleep. I shuddered. Well that was creepy. My horn began to tingle, and I looked around. I sighed and leapt up onto the bed. Thunder and April woke with a start.

"Wha-?" April said, her hair sticking off of her head wildly and drool running from the corner of her mouth.

"C'mon. You said to not leave you behind again, so I'm waking you up this time." I said, and leapt down, opening the door. I dashed down the hall, and heard April come sprinting behind me.

"Mars! What are you doing?" She called. I ignored her and pushed my way out the door of the Pokémon center, running down the street. My horn was leading me to the forest east of here, near Mount Moon. I paused every once in a while, in order to let April catch up. It was slow going, and the tingling in my horn didn't fade, making me more and more anxious as time passed. After what seemed like hours, I reached the general location of the danger and waited. A dense pine forest surrounded me, eerily quiet. Even at night, forests buzz with activity. Something was wrong. Abruptly, my horn stopped tingling, leaving me very confused, and very worried. Was I too late? April ran up to me, still in her pink PJs.

"What's wrong, Mars?" She said breathlessly. Just then, a hyper beam shot off into the night sky, followed by a roar that literally shook the trees. My horn tingled again, and I knew that was where I was supposed to go, but my legs felt stuck to the ground. Even from here, I could feel power radiating from whatever was going on a rampage. "L-let's get out of here, Mars." April whispered, grabbing me around the neck and trying to pull me away. Almost every part of me agreed with her, telling me to run. I gritted my teeth and swallowed my fear.

"Stay here." I said, looking at her. She froze, staring right at me. "Stay." I said, and broke free of her arms, walking straight towards the source of the hyper beam. I broke through the trees, stepping into a meadow. A lake was situated in the center, serenely calm. Then I saw it. The Tyranitar was enormous, standing stock still, and glaring at a bush. Bloodlust and rage radiated from it.

"So, mind telling me why you're firing hyper beams into the sky?" I asked. Tyranitar glanced over his shoulder, and grinned maliciously.

"Because I'm angry." He said calmly.

"Well, you don't seem very angry. What're you looking at?" I asked, walking past him to look at the bush. Inside was a Charmander, who was curled into a ball, his hands over his head, and whimpering. I glanced back at Tyranitar. "What'd this Charmander do to you?" I asked. Tyranitar's made a deep rumbling sound that I could only assume was a growl.

"It pissed me off." He said. I frowned.

"That's not very helpful." I said. Tyranitar glared at me, and I could feel his anger rising by the second.

"You don't understand." Tyranitar growled. "I. Hate. Fire. Types." He snapped, and shot another hyper beam into the sky. He roared and came barreling right at me. I cursed and leapt to the side as he swung his fist. A crater was formed where he connected with the ground, and I felt fear course through me. This guy was on more than just another level than me. He was on top of a mountain, and I was at the base. I growled and glanced at the bush, where Charmander was hiding. "AND IF YOU GET IN MY WAY, I'LL KILL YOU, TOO!" Tyranitar bellowed, charging at me once more.

"Mars!" April called, appearing in the clearing.

"Get out of here!" I yelled, barely dodging Tyranitar's blow. We were face to face now, and I found myself staring into his eyes. They were filled with bloodlust and rage, such intense rage, that I could feel my bones begin to melt, and my legs become mere twigs. Compared to this guy, I wouldn't be more than a gnat. It was in this moment of reflection that Tyranitar struck, smashing his head into mine. Stars leapt across my vision, and I fell to the ground.

"Mars!" April called. Tyranitar brought his foot up, raising it above my head. "Use thunder wave!" Tyranitar was struck by a wave of electricity, and he froze, turning his attention to Thunder, who now stood in front of April. I blinked, trying to get up, trying to speak. "Karate chop!" April said. Thunder launched himself, and slammed his fist into Tyranitar's head. Tyranitar didn't even blink at this, and slammed his head into Thunder, who was sent flying.

"You're going to interfere, too?" Tyranitar said, ignoring me for the moment, and instead approaching April, who was holding Thunder. "Then you'll feel my wrath too!" He bellowed, bringing back his fist. I growled and managed to get to my feet, and took a step forwards.

"Hey!" I said. "Leave them be." Tyranitar froze, and then shook his head.

"Sorry, but that's not possible." He said, bringing his fist back farther. Anger surged through me, and I raced forwards, slamming into Tyranitar at full speed, causing his swing to miss April by inches. Tyranitar turned around with surprising speed and grabbed me, hurling me over his back and into the forest. I cursed and twisted midair, landing on my feet, and racing forwards again to stand over April, who was holding Thunder while curled into a ball, shaking with fear. Thunder was KO'd. I cursed myself. I shouldn't have brought her. Tyranitar glared at me.

"You are nothing but a pest to me." He said. I was silent for a second.

"I know." I said.

"You know? Then why don't you run away? Sacrificing this girl would save your life." Tyranitar said. I laughed dryly.

"Sure, and how would I feel about it for the rest of my life, then?" I said. "It's my job to protect people as an Absol, and it's my job to protect her as her Pokémon. I'd rather die now than live the rest of my life in regret of this one moment." Tyranitar relax a moment, and grinned at me.

"I respect your ideals, Absol. However, I also cannot let you off scot-free." He said. I sighed.

"I figured as much. Then do you mind if we go somewhere else? I don't want her getting hurt." I said, indicating April. She was now staring up at me, wide eyed. Tyranitar sighed.

"No." He said, and raised his fist.

"Tyranitar." A voice said. I froze. It sounded like nothing more than the whisperings of the wind. A cold wind began to blow, and there was another ripple of power. Tyranitar turned around. "That's enough. You may go." The voice said. It was louder now, seeming to flow over me like soothing water, almost as if it was trying to purify the very air. Tyranitar nodded.

"Sure thing." Tyranitar said, and looked over his shoulder at me. "Sorry about that. Be seeing you." He said, and lumbered into the forest, now ignoring me completely. I shuddered and looked out at the meadow. Who had enough power too…?

"No way." I muttered, and walked forwards. There, standing in the middle of the lake, was a Suicune. He regarded me.

"You surprise me, Absol. Not all of your kind are as noble." He said. "I apologize for Tyranitar, he can be quite….difficult at times." He said. I opened and closed my mouth in shock. What was a Suicune doing here? What was a legendary doing here? "We shall meet again, when you are stronger." He said, and raced off, leaving behind nothing but a cool north wind and a pure lake.

"M-Mars…" April said softly, breaking me out of my trance. I shook my head. I was forgetting something. Why had I come out here? …Charmander.

"Hang on a second. I'll be right there." I said, scanning the meadow for Charmander. I saw him standing outside the bush he had been hiding in, staring at me. I grunted and walked over to him. "Hey, kid. You alright?" I asked. Charmander nodded, still staring at me, wide eyed.

"Y-yeah…" He said. I nodded, casting a critical eye over him. He didn't appear to have any physical damage done to him.

"Good." I said, turning away. "Take care."

"Wait!" He said. I stopped, looking at him over my shoulder. "Take me with you." He said. At my inquisitive look, he continued. "I…I don't want to run into Tyranitar again, and, and I want to get stronger..." Charmander said, looking at the ground. I sighed and nodded.

"Sure. I'm sure April would love to have you on her team." I said. "C'mon. I'll introduce you two." I said, and headed over towards April, who was staring at me in shock.

"Mars…" She said. I sighed and walked up to her, hanging my head.

"Before anything else, I just want you to know, that I'm sorry. I know you can't understand me, but I can still hope that you get the gist. I shouldn't have gotten you involved in that. It was stupid and reckless of me. I'm so, so, sorry." I said.

"M-Mars…" She whispered, lifting my head and staring into my eyes. "Why can I understand you?"


	8. Chapter 8

**So, I need a little advice/help. It's a decision for the fourth Pokemon of both James and April. Post your choice in the reviews, PM me, whatever. Maybe give a little story on how they happen to catch the Pokemon, it's up to you. It can be from any region. No legendaries, though.**

**Anyways, enjoy the latest chapter.**

POV: Suicune

"Damn you and your mind games, Mew." I said. Mew giggled, floating upside down in front of me. "Did you really have to make a psychic link between those two?" I asked, talking about April and Mars. Mew had made the link just before Mars had attempted to intervene with Tyranitar, when I was distracted for a split second. Mew giggled again and nodded.

"Of course! It wouldn't be fun otherwise." Mew said. I sighed and shook my head. It was the morning after Tyranitar had tested Mars, and the sun was just beginning to come up. We were once more standing at the top of Mount Moon.

"I hate you Mew." I growled. Mew just giggled again and started to fly circles around me. "And I guess it would be pointless to ask you to undo it." I said. Mew nodded.

"Yep, yep, yep! And you don't hate me. You _love _me." Mew said. I growled and shook my head.

"Just shut up and show me what's going on." I said. Mew giggled and made the link, showing me live images of what was going on at the Pokémon center. April and Mars were sitting silently together, watching her Thunder and her newly caught Charmander, who she named Burn, getting acquainted. They apparently hadn't slept at all last night, because bags hung under both of their eyes, while Burn and Thunder appeared fully rested. Darkrai materialized next to us, slipping out of the shadows.

"Hmm. So, you tested Mars last night, too, huh, Suicune?" He asked. I grunted, confirming what he had asked. "I tested that Kirlia, too. Through use of nightmares, of course. She far exceeded my expectations." He said. James and Kirlia stumbled into the reception area, both looking as sleepless as April and Mars. There was a crackle of thunder, and I hear someone walk up behind us. Mew terminated the connection, and I turned around. Raikou was standing behind me, flanked by Entei and Cresselia.

"How goes the search?" Raikou asked. I shrugged.

"There is a likely candidate in the Pokémon center in Pewter city. I assume you two have made your choices?" I asked. Entei and Raikou nodded.

"Yes." They said in unison. I glanced over at Cresselia and Darkrai, who were deep in conversation.

"You know that Lugia will want to meet this choice of yours." Raikou warned. I nodded.

"I'm aware of that; I just hope he doesn't go to extremes just to meet him. Now tell me, why are you here? Surely it's more important than simply asking about the search." I said. Entei nodded.

"Arceus is holding a meeting." Entei said. I nodded and glanced down the mountain again, towards Pewter city.

"Then let's go." I said, and raced down the mountain. _Mars, you and I will meet again in due time. _

POV CHANGE: Kirlia

I grumbled and rubbed my eyes, still feeling half asleep as I stumbled into the reception area of the Pokémon center Usually I woke up full of energy, but not today. Not after the dream. A shudder ran through me just thinking about it. It had been a nightmare, but the details were hazy and disorienting. If I remembered right…Darkrai had visited me. But that didn't make any sense. Why would Darkrai visit me?

"Morning, April." James muttered with a yawn. April looked over at him, her eyes extremely tired. Mars grunted and stood up, heading over towards Thunder and a Charmander, who were getting into an argument.

"That's enough, you two." He snapped, breaking them apart. "I'm seriously not in the mood for this." Elekid grumbled and walked back to April, sitting in her lap. Charmander muttered sorry to Mars, and also walked over to April, sitting at her feet. I raised my eyebrows at this and walked over to Mars.

"What's with the Charmander?" I asked. Mars grunted.

"New addition to the team. Long story. His name's Burn." Mars said and glanced over to me. "You didn't get any sleep last night either, I see." He said. I shook my head.

"I did, I just didn't sleep well. You know that Vulpix from yesterday?" I asked. Mars nodded. "She's going to be traveling with James now. He spent half the night convincing her to come with us because he felt sorry that her trainer abandoned her." I said. Mars nodded and sighed. There was a small tick in my brain, like there was something that I should be noticing, but I couldn't place it. James was admiring Burn, and then grinned.

"You're not the only one with a new friend. Come on out, Vulpix." James said. Vulpix yawned and stretched, her fur back to being glossy after Joy cleaned her up.

"Yo." She said. April greeted Vulpix, and yawned. Red walked into the door, emitting the same cold emotions. There was nothing I could read about the guy, almost as if he had another Pokémon blocking my emotion sense. That really bothered me.

"Hey! You two are already up! Awesome. So, how about we go get breakfast and hit the road, huh?" Red said. April blinked.

"W-we?" She asked. Red nodded.

"Yeah, I figure I'll travel with you to Cerulean. There's some business I need to attend to there, so it works well for me." He said, and then narrowed his eyes at us. "Did you even sleep last night? You look terrible." He said. April nodded, and glanced at Mars.

"A little. Not much. We had a little adventure." April muttered. Red shrugged.

"Oh well. Let's get going, I want to make Cerulean by noon." Red said. I sighed and walked over to James, who recalled Vulpix.

"You next, Kirlia." He said, and recalled me. Just before I entered, I saw a flash of psychic energy, connecting Mars and April. I'd have to examine that later.

POV CHANGE: Mars

I stared at the entrance to Mount Moon, glaring at the cave. A Pokémon center was situated to the left of it, sunk into the side of the mountain. Red had pushed us here as soon as we had finished breakfast, despite how tired we were. I growled and rubbed my eyes with my paws.

"What's wrong, Mars?" April asked.

"Nothing. Just tired. Looking forwards to rest." I said. April nodded.

"Yeah, me too." She said. I was surprised for a second, and then shook my head. I'd have to get used to the fact that she could understand me. For some reason, it was only her. No one else could understand what I was saying, and she couldn't understand what any other Pokémon was saying. It was perplexing, and very annoying.

"Alright, we all set?" Red asked, letting out Jake. Jake stretched his wings and glared at the entrance.

"We're going back in there, huh." He said. "Brings back memories."

"Yes." April said, and started walking towards the cave. "Let's go."

"You're eager this morning." I noted. April shrugged.

"I just want to get to Cerulean as fast as possible." She muttered. James caught up to April, and Red walked behind us, followed by Jake. We entered the cave, and I growled, my eyes taking a while to adjust to the darkness of the cave. "Go, Burn." April said, tossing out Burn. He appeared, the fire on his tail lighting the dim room with the aid of Jake. "Lead the way, Burn." April said. Burn nodded nervously, twisting his hands and peering into the darkness. I sighed and walked up next to him.

"Don't worry kid. I've got your back." I said. Burn turned and smiled at me, admiration in his eyes. He had that look nearly every time I spoke, even though he'd only known me for a few hours. I wasn't sure whether to be proud, or annoyed.

"Thanks." Burn said, and started walking forwards fearlessly. We walked for a minute before running into a crossroad, where the tunnels split into three different branches. Zubat flitted around nervously, and one dove towards us.

"Burn, use ember. Keep the Zubat back." April commanded. James tossed out Vulpix.

"You too, Vulpix. Help Burn." James commanded. Vulpix muttered an insult towards James, and began firing ember at the Zubat along with Burn. It was a few minutes before the Zubat scattered. April glanced back at Red, who was watching with a look of mild amusement.

"Which way?" April asked. Red snapped out of his daze, peered down each tunnel, and scratched the back of his head, laughing.

"Not sure. The one in the middle, I think." He said.

"You don't know?" James said. "Haven't you been here before?" Red shrugged.

"Hey, it's been a while, don't-" Red was cut off by the sound of a roar, one that shook the mountain. I tensed and glared down the tunnel it had come from.

"M-Mars…w-was t-that…" April said, beginning to tremble. I nodded, growling as the Pokémon lumbered towards us, causing the mountain to shake with each step. I could feel Jake begin to tense behind me, ready for a fight.

"Yes." I said. "That was Tyranitar." I said. Laughter echoed through the hall, and Burn ran to cower behind me. James grabbed his other pokeballs, prepared to fight with all three of his Pokémon if need be.

"Hohoho, don't get all worked up, I'm not here to fight you." Tyranitar said, coming into view. "Besides, I wouldn't stand a chance against the Champion." He was grinning, and I stepped forwards.

"What do you want?" I growled. He just shrugged.

"Nothing much, I just wanted to apologize for last night. Feel pretty bad about it." He said. I blinked in surprise. He had come here just to apologize? I found that hard to believe.

"What about last night?" Jake said, approaching Tyranitar. I sighed and shook my head.

"We had a little scuffle with this guy last night. That's where we met Burn. It's a long story, so don't ask." I said. Jake shrugged, looking Tyranitar up and down.

"Well, what can I say? I was or-" Tyranitar caught himself, and quickly started speaking again. "Angry. You could consider it a thorn in my foot." I narrowed my eyes at him. He had been about to say something other than angry. "Anyways, the exit's down the tunnel to the right." Tyranitar said. Jake nodded, and turned to Red. Red nodded, and he and James started walking down the tunnel on the right.

"C-come one, Mars." April said weakly. I stayed put, waiting until the others were out of earshot before I began speaking. Tyranitar's grin faded when the others got out of earshot, and he looked at me.

"There's more to it, isn't there?" I asked. Tyranitar sighed and nodded.

"I can't explain exactly what, but something is going on. Something big. The legendaries are all in a buzz about it." Tyranitar said. I narrowed my eyes.

"Suicune." I said. Tyranitar nodded.

"Like I said, I can't explain it. Suicune was the one who sent me last night. I'd be careful, Suicune's taken an interest in you, which isn't always a good thing." Tyranitar said, and lumbered back down the tunnel he had come from. Burn came out from behind me, staring fearfully down the tunnel.

"W-what was that about?" April said. I growled and started down the exit tunnel.

"Not much." I said. "Just a bigger picture." I glared at the wall, mulling over the information. Why would Suicune take an interest in me? I know I'm great and all, but still…as Tyranitar said, a legendary taking interest in you isn't necessarily a good thing. And why send Tyranitar on a rampage? I shook my head, seeing the exit to the cave, where James and Red were waiting for us. It was best to put these thoughts off until I got some sleep. No use mulling it over in a tired brain.


	9. Chapter 9

**Alright, I don't like this chapter much, so I'm going to apologize ahead of time. It's basically a filler, getting the story set up for some other major plot points I'm going to be introducing. It gets a little erratic and jumpy, so sorry. Just bear with me, the next chapter will be better. **

Mars POV

I yawned and stretched, looking around. The Pokémon center was nearly empty, and it was the middle of the day. We had been in Cerulean for two days now, having simply come to the Pokémon center the first day and crashed, and spent the entirety of yesterday training. Burn and Thunder were roughhousing with each other, tumbling across the floor in a flurry of limbs.

"Well, those two have really hit it off." I said. April nodded, watching them with a smile playing on her lips. James burst through the doors, startling me, and sat down in the chair across from us with a huff.

"The gym leader's off doing something right now, so we can't challenge her." He said grumpily. April smiled.

"That's ok. Now we can go see the Cerulean cape. I hear that the sunsets are beautiful there." April said. James looked at her like she was crazy.

"Sunsets? Why would you care about that? Jeez, girls are weird." James said. April just smiled, shaking her head.

"Sunsets are very romantic." April swooned. James frowned.

"I rest my case. And now, I need to go do something manly, like battling." James said, standing up. "I'm going to go down towards route 5. I'll see you later." He said.

"Maybe we should go to the Cerulean cape together. I hear that there's a trainer challenge along the way, and you get a prize if you beat it." April tempted him. James paused and sighed.

"Fine. I'll go up to the Cerulean cape with you, but for the battles, not for some stupid sunset or something." James said. April giggled.

"Well, that'll be a bonus. Just you and me, sitting on a hill, watching the sun go down…" April said, teasing him. James turned bright red and clenched his fists.

"I, uh, no, I'm not going to do that." James said. April giggled and stood up.

"We'll see. Now let's go." She said. James practically bolted out the door, and April just smiled. I shook my head.

"You've got a mean streak, don't you?" I said. "I'm impressed." April giggled, and we walked out the door, almost running into another boy and his Pokémon.

"Excuse me." April said quietly, slipping past him. I respectfully waited inside, letting the boy come through. He wore a black trench coat that fell down to his ankles, with dark blue streaks running along the seams. The collar was flipped up, covering the lower half of his face. His hair was ruffled brown, and he nodded to me as he walked past. A Lucario entered behind him, looking at me and smiling.

"How's it going?" The Lucario asked. I shrugged.

"Not bad." I said. Lucario grinned and nodded, following the boy clad in black. I assumed he was his trainer. I slipped out the door and followed April, who was waiting for me.

"You coming?" She asked.

"Dunno. I haven't decided yet." I said with a yawn. April laughed, and shook her head.

"You don't have a choice. Let's go." She said, and we walked off. James was waiting for us at a bridge that was named 'nugget bridge,' or so it said on the sign. It was painted a dim gold color, and was lined with people, a few of whom were fishing in the river below. The sounds of battling Pokémon could be heard coming from the opposite end, and James rushed forwards.

"Come on! Let's go find some battles!" He said. April followed, with me close behind. Upon reaching the other side of the bridge, we found that there were six trainers, all lined up to battle with one single trainer, whose Squirtle was losing a fight against a Raticate.

"Raticate! Use hyper fang!" The Raticate leapt forwards, and sunk its fangs into Squirtle, who was KO'd. The owner of Squirtle cursed and recalled him. "Better luck next time kid. Look at it this way, you got through three of us this time." Raticate's owner said, shaking the other kid's hand.

"Thanks." The kid said, and turned around, his eyes landing on April.

"April?" He said, and then he smiled. "April! How's it going?" He asked, running up to us. His voice sounded vaguely familiar.

"P-Parker?" April asked. James ignored both of them and approached the six trainers. "Hi." She said. Parker grinned and scratched the back of his head.

"How's it going? It's been a while. We haven't seen each other since before we even got to Viridian, huh? My Cannon's doing great, we just got through Mount Moon. I'm training against these guys before hitting the Cerulean gym. How's your Mars doing? He looks good. Alright, well, I'm off to the Pokémon center, and then to train more. See ya!" Parker said, and raced off.

"He talks too much." I said. April nodded in agreement, still a little taken aback by the one sided conversation she had just taken part of.

"Yes, he does. Let's go see what James is doing." She said. James was now in the middle of a battle with another trainer, his Kirlia dominating the opponent's Ekans. Kirlia tossed Ekans aside with confusion, and the Ekans fainted. The trainer sighed and recalled him.

"Nice job. Now you get to fight me." The next trainer in line said. Almost immediately, the battle began, and April walked up to a bystander.

"What is this?" April asked. He shrugged, watching the match.

"It's a trainer challenge. You have to beat six trainers in a row and at the end you get a prize. Nobody has beaten it this year, though a few have gotten close. It's taxing, facing six opponents right after the other. But it's great stamina training." He explained. I nodded, watching the battle. James had switched out Kirlia, sending out Vulpix to battle an opposing Magnemite. Vulpix charged ahead, firing a fire spin at the Magnemite.

"Cool. Do you want to try, Mars?" April asked. I shrugged.

"Sure. Why not. You need to train Burn and Thunder first, though." I said. "It'd be better training for them than it would be for me." April nodded.

"Ok." She said, and approached one of the people in line to battle James. "H-hi." She said tentatively. The boy turned to look at her, a smile on his face.

"Hi. I assume you're looking to challenge us? Go talk to Richard over there, he'll get you started." The boy said, pointing to the trainer James had just defeated. We walked over to him, and he glanced up, giving his Ekans something to eat. Almost immediately, Ekans was revitalized, letting out a happy hiss. I had to give it to them; the humans did make some amazing medicine.

"I guess you want to challenge me?" He asked. April nodded.

"Alright, I'll only use two Pokémon. You can use however many you want. If you beat me, you'll face Jessica. Let's go to the arena." He said, and walked about ten feet to the left of where he had been, to a flat piece of dirt ground. "Ekans, you're up." He said. Ekans hissed and slithered forwards.

"Alright, Thunder, let's go!" April called, taking her position across from him. Thunder appeared on the field, whirling his arms. "Start it off with thunder wave." April said. Thunder fired a small blast of electricity at Ekans, who cringed as electricity crackled around his body. "Now use thunder shock!" Ekans was once again zapped with electricity, and lay on the ground, KO'd. Richard sighed and recalled him.

"Alright. Come on out, Pidgeotto." The bird Pokémon flitted about nervously, eyeing Thunder. He had a look on his face that plainly said, _seriously? Against an electric type? _

"Thunder shock!" April said.

"Dodge with quick attack." Pidgeotto flew out of the way of the electric blast, and slammed into Thunder, who grunted with the impact.

"Don't let him get away! Use thunder shock and then swift!" April commanded. Thunder fired a point blank thunder shock, causing Pidgeotto to fall to the ground. Gold stars shot from Thunder's arm as he swung it, slamming into Pidgeotto and knocking it out. Richard sighed again and recalled Pidgeotto.

"Every time." He muttered. "Fine. Now go fight Jessica." April approached the girl Richard had pointed to, who was observing James' match, watching as he swept aside this opponent with a wicked grin on his face. Kirlia was literally using a Mankey as a mop, sweeping it across the ground with her confusion attack. Jessica turned to us.

"Are you going to challenge me?" She asked. April nodded. "Alright, but I'm stronger than Richard. Be forewarned." She said, and we went to the same battle spot as before. Jessica sent out Magnemite, and I lay down, watching the match. April sent out Burn, who defeated Magnemite after taking only one thunder shock. I was impressed at that; he was stronger than I initially thought. I had trained him quite a bit yesterday, too, which probably helped. Jessica's next pokemon was an Oddish, who Burn swept aside with no issues. He proudly turned to me.

"Did you see that?!" He said excitedly. I nodded.

"Yeah, I saw. Good job." I said. He puffed up his chest in pride, and April recalled him, shaking Jessica's hand.

"Jeez, swept twice in one day. And by two kids, no less." Jessica said with a sigh. "Oh well, the next guy won't be as easy as me, so be warned. He's over there. I'll get him for you." She said, and called the next opponent over. He approached us with a grin.

"Alright. So I get to battle you now? Cool. If you're even half as good as your friend over there, you'll give me a good fight. So, first up, I choose Psyduck." The yellow duck appeared on the field, clutching his head in agony.

"Ok…Thunder, you're up." She said, and sent out Thunder. "Use thunder shock." Thunder fired the bolt of electricity, which knocked over Psyduck.

"Get up and use confusion." Psyduck leapt up and lifted Thunder in the air with a confusion, and slammed him into the ground. "Keep using confusion! Don't let him go!"

"Quick, use thunder wave!" April called. Another blast of electricity escaped Thunder, breaking free of the weak psychic energy and freezing Psyduck, who was now unable to move. Thunder found himself freed from the confusion, and grinned. "Now, finish Psyduck off with a dual karate chop." Thunder ran up to Psyduck, bringing his hands down onto the paralyzed duck's head, knocking him out. Psyduck was recalled, and replaced by a Mankey, who swung his arms testily, eyeing Thunder. April recalled Thunder.

"Mars, you're up. I want you to get some practice in against a type you don't match up well against." April said, I nodded and trotted onto the battlefield, cracking my neck. Almost immediately, I could tell that I was stronger than this Mankey. He stretched and jumped around crazily, swinging his arms around, attempting to intimidate me.

"Oh, I'm gonna tear you up, Absol. I lost to that Kirlia, but I'm gonna tear you up. Here we go, here we go." He said. I sighed and shook my head.

"Alright, kid. Come at me with everything you've got." I said. Mankey glared at me.

"Mankey, use low kick!" Mankey flew at me, swinging his leg at my front left foreleg. I simply lifted that leg up, letting the kick pass harmlessly underneath me.

"Little tip, aim for two legs at once. It's harder to dodge that way." I said. Mankey glared at me, jumping back.

"Follow it up with a karate chop!"

"Block it with your horn, Mars!" April called. I brought my head down as she instructed, catching the blow on the edge of my horn. I grunted with appreciation of the move. Using my horn made the blow cause next to zero damage to me. April really was smart when it came to battling. "Now use razor wind!" I brought my head down as Mankey's eyes grew wide, the attack hitting him at point blank range. He was KO'd instantly, and a groan escaped his lips. I made a tsk noise, and walked back to April.

"Didn't even give me a workout." I grumbled. April grinned at me.

"You were fantastic." She said. I shrugged.

"That's nothing new." I said, watching our opponent shake April's hand. April laughed at my comment, and the other guy narrowed his eyes at her.

"Something funny?" He asked. April shook her head.

"N-no. Sorry. I-I just thought of something funny. Our battle reminded me of it." April said quickly. The other guy nodded and sighed.

"Alright, I'll go get your next opponent." He said, and walked off, shaking his head and muttering something. The next two opponents ended in much the same way, April starting off with Thunder or Burn, and then finishing them off with me. They got progressively harder, and our sixth opponent would be the toughest. But judging by the fact that the previous two hadn't been that much of a fight, and that James had beaten him, I wondered how tough he could actually be. He, Kirlia, Nidoran, and Vulpix all lay off to the side, resting as April and number six squared off against each other.

"Alright, kid. Let's see if you can be the second trainer to beat us this year. Give me a good fight, at the least." He taunted, and sent out a Bulbasaur. April nodded.

"Alright, then Burn, I choose you!" April called. Burn appeared on the field, already looking tired. He had taken his fair share of damage from last battle, and I was surprised he could still go on.

"Bulbasaur, use sleep powder!" Bulbasaur launched a blast of the intoxicating powder at Burn, who looked too tired to even dodge.

"Block it with ember, and then use ember again!" Burn did as asked, the first ember blowing right through the sleep powder, simultaneously igniting it and hitting Bulbasaur, who yelled in pain. Burn quickly fired another, knocking him out. Burn grinned weakly, breathing hard.

"Alright, now, go Kadabra!" Kadabra took the stage, and April recalled Burn, who sighed with relief as she did so.

"You're up again, Mars." April said. I nodded and walked onto the battlefield.

"No hard feelings." I said. He nodded.

"Good luck." He said. I grinned.

"Kadabra! Use charge beam!" The blast of electricity hit me in a flash, catching me off guard. It was strong, but nothing I couldn't handle. I growled and righted myself, glaring at Kadabra, who raised his eyebrows.

"Wow. I'm impressed you actually managed to survive that." Kadabra said.

"Use razor wind, and follow it up with pursuit!" I swung my horn, firing the blast of wind, and charged in after it.

"Teleport!" Kadabra vanished, and I grinned, realizing April's strategy. I leapt to the side, slamming into Kadabra as he reappeared. He was sent tumbling, and I grinned. Pursuit allowed me to attack before a Pokémon was recalled, and directly after a move like Teleport occurs, doubling its power.

"Now use ice beam!" April called. I fired, freezing Kadabra before he had a chance to recover. The other kid sighed and recalled Kadabra.

"To think, I was swept twice in one day. I haven't been swept like that in six years, ever since Red, Green, and Blue came through here." He said ruefully. "Guess it can't be helped. Here. It's a TM, contains the move flame charge. Figure it's a good match for your Charmander. I wish you the best of luck." He said, and walked away.

"Well…that was fun." I said. "But I'm a little tired now. You said something about a cape and relaxation?" I asked. April nodded, and grinned at me, putting the TM into her pack.

"We've still got time to go there. Let's get James." She said. James walked up to us, hearing his name mentioned. Kirlia was the only Pokémon he had left out of its pokeball. "Oh, hey James. How about we go to the Cerulean cape?" James sighed and nodded.

"Sure. I'm sure my Pokémon would appreciate a little rest outside of the Pokémon center. " He said. April smiled and we started walking. The trail quickly emptied out of people, until it turned into a quiet trail through some woods. There was a rustling, and three people emerged from the trees, grinning at us. They wore the same black outfits emblazoned with a red R. They looked to be older, probably about twenty or so. Kirlia narrowed her eyes at them.

"I don't like the feel of these three." She said. The lead guy grinned.

"Hi! Nice to meetcha. Now, if you don't mind, hand over your Pokémon, and no one gets hurt." All three of them let their Pokémon out of their pokeballs, two each, all of them glaring at us menacingly. "As you see, you don't have much of a choice."


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry guys, but the updates are about to get farther and farther apart because of school and life in general. I'll do my best to post one new chapter per week. **

"You see, this is why I hate humans." I muttered, dodging Golbat's supersonic attack. "I start to get comfortable around them." I said, replying with a razor wind. "I start to think that maybe you aren't so bad." A Koffing slammed into me, knocking me over. He was fried with a blast of electricity from Thunder. "And what do you do? You pull this little stunt." I said, freezing the Koffing, who was starting to get back up. The battle was raging on around me, with me, Nidoran, and Kirlia on the front lines. Vulpix, Thunder, and Burn were in the back, providing ranged support because they were too tired to fight up front. The Rocket recalled Koffing and replaced it with a Marill. I cursed. They each must have six Pokémon, and every time we KO'd one, they'd just replace it.

"Just give up. This'll get you nowhere. We're going to steal your Pokémon, and there's nothing you can do about it. Your Pokémon are too tired from their previous fights, and won't stand a chance against us." One of the Rockets said.

"Shut up! If I have to, I'll fight! You aren't going to get my Pokémon!" James yelled, his face red with anger.

"Y-yeah!" April yelled. I smiled, chuckling at the two's brave words. Leave it to the kids to be naïve and brave. But that's why I like them. Golbat stopped its swoop to give me a funny look.

"What're you laughing at?" He asked. I grinned at him maliciously.

"Oh, I'm just imagining all the fun ways I'm going to rip you to pieces. The one human I actually trust is depending on me, so I can't let her down." I said, and launched myself forwards, slamming into Golbat with renewed vigor. Golbat was down for the count, and I whirled on the two Watchog advancing on me. I hit one with ice beam, and then hit them both with a razor wind. To my surprise, they both got up. Nidoran jumped in then, hitting them both with a double kick and putting them down for the count.

"Leave us alone!" She yelled, and began to glow. The battle stopped, everyone watching as Nidoran evolved into Nidorina. I nodded, and blindsided a Machop, who had been trying to deliver a cheap shot on me. He got back up quickly and hit me with a low kick, which really hurt. I slammed into the ground and rolled out of the way of a karate chop. I popped back up and was about to fire razor wind when a blast of blue and purple fire hit Machop, fainting him. I glanced back at Burn, who had the purple fire streaming from his mouth. I shook my head and continued my assault.

"Burn, use dragon rage again on Murkrow!" April called. The purple fire engulfed the Murkrow, sending it tumbling to the ground. There was a yelp, and I whirled, watching as Vulpix was KO'd by another Golbat's poison fang. I cursed and shot it down with an ice beam, only to be bit by a Raticate. I growled and shook it off, hitting it with a quick attack. Three more Pokémon advanced on me, making me back up with a growl. I was breathing hard. A bolt of lightning arched over me, hitting the Raticate that had just bit me, followed by an ember that KO'd it. I launched myself forwards with a snarl, biting and scratching with the other two, another Raticate and a Parasect. Two more Pokémon jumped into the fray, attempting to overpower me. I was crushed under the weight of the four Pokémon, but managed to struggle to my feet, seeing the Nidorina had been defeated by a Drowzee. I growled, barely managing to shake my attackers off, and leaping backwards, firing a razor wind. This was not going well.

"Wow. How pathetic." A voice said behind us. Everyone froze, turning around to look at the figure approaching us. It was the same boy from the Pokémon center, wearing the black trench coat with his Lucario close behind. I could see his face now, having put his collar down. He didn't look very old, maybe 18 or 19, and had a small smile on his face. "You guys are having trouble with two kids. Seriously, that's just sad." The man said.

"This doesn't concern you." One Rocket said, attempting to sound menacing. The man just laughed, his Lucario stepping out in front of him. "Leave before we hurt you too." I glanced at the Rockets. They seemed worried about this new guy, whoever he was.

"Why would I take a threat from a Rocket seriously? You guys were taken down by a ten year old. Twice." The man said, waggling two fingers at them.

"We are not the Rockets we were back then. We are stronger now than ever before!" A Rocket exclaimed. Kirlia came to join me to fight the four Pokémon in front of me.

"Burn and Thunder will help the Lucario fight the other five. It's up to us to take care of these four." She whispered. I nodded.

"Get them!" The Rocket yelled. The four Pokémon charged us, and I fired an ice beam, hitting the ground in front of them. They slipped on the ice, and fell onto the ground at full momentum, skidding towards us. Kirlia threw multiple magical leaf attacks, hitting two of them. I fired another ice beam, knocking out a Gloom that was attempting to use sleep powder. Drowzee got up, cursing me. I raced forwards, using a pursuit to knock him back. Raticate launched itself at me, only to be caught by Kirlia's confusion and thrown into Parasect. I fired a razor wind at them, sending them tumbling backwards, and Drowzee cursed again, attempting to use a psychic on me.

"Why won't this work?!" He yelled in frustration. I KO'd him with another pursuit, and grinned.

"You must be especially stupid. Psychic moves don't work on dark types." I said, and turned to where Kirlia was being attacked by Parasect. I launched a razor wind, blowing Parasect away from Kirlia, and Raticate latched onto me with a hyper fang. I yelled in pain, and twisted around, managing to the tip of my horn between Raticate and myself. I growled and fired another razor wind, blowing Raticate off of me. His teeth scraped me as he was blown backwards, causing me to let out another yelp. I froze Raticate with ice beam, and saw Parasect fly over my head. That made four. I whirled around, ready to help Lucario…only to see that he was sitting on a pile of Pokémon, all KO'd. He grinned at me.

"Finally done, huh? Good, now help me with those three." Lucario said, jerking his head to where the three Rockets were. "Or not." He said, seeing that his trainer, trench coat guy, had them tied up.

"You were taking too long, so I went ahead and took care of it." Trench coat said, grabbing their pokeballs and recalling their injured Pokémon for them. Lucario smiled and shook his head. Trench coat walked towards April and James. Everyone but Kirlia and I had been recalled. "Hey, you two ok?" He asked. April and James nodded. "Good. Any minute now and Officer Jenny will be here…" He said. As if on cue, (which seems to happen a lot) the sound of an engine could be heard, and Officer Jenny came roaring up in her police cruiser. She stepped out of her car and nodded to Trench Coat.

"You called?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah. I've got three Rockets here, who were attempting to steal their Pokémon." Trench Coat said, pointing to April and James. Jenny nodded.

"Alright, I'll take them into custody. I'll need to ask all of you some questions, but that can wait. You need to get your Pokémon taken care of, so I'll drop you off at the Pokémon center." Jenny said. I glanced at April. "So recall your Pokémon, and we'll be off." She said. James recalled Kirlia, and April glanced at me.

"Just this once." I said with a sigh. April nodded and pulled out a pokeball.

"Mars, return." She said. The world turned into a swirling vortex of colors, and I was sucked into the pokeball.

POV CHANGE: Soul (Lucario)

My trainer, Lucien, and I stood in between two alleys, hidden in the shadows. The girl, April, and her Absol, Mars, had just exited the police station with James. I scanned their auras, detecting a sense of unease. I also noticed a familiar aura creeping up behind me, and I turned around, grinning at Red.

"Hello, Red." I said. Red sighed, shaking his head.

"I still can't get over the fact that you can speak English, Soul." He said. I grinned. Lucien ignored both of us, watching the kids (Not in the perverted way). "Still lurking in the shadows, huh Lucien?" Red said. Lucien nodded.

"I like it better this way." Lucien said. "So those are the two kids you were telling me about?" He asked. I turned to look at the kids, who were now talking excitedly to each other, pointing at the gym across the street. Red nodded.

"Yep. That's them." He said. "Sorry I can't stay with them, but with Team Rocket on the move again it's my duty as the Champion to try and stop them. Sure you don't mind watching over them?" Red asked. Lucien shrugged, turning around and grinning at Red.

"Sure. I'd be glad to watch them. I'm not as anti-social as I seem, you know." He said.

"Sure you are." I said with a grin. Lucien glared at me.

"Whose side are you on?" He asked. I grinned and shrugged. Lucien just sighed.

"So, Team Rocket's on the move again, huh." He said turning back to the kids. They had just entered the Cerulean gym. "It's probably got something to do with _that."_ He said. Red nodded.

"Undoubtedly. Come on, let's go watch their match. I'll introduce you guys and then treat you all to lunch." Red said. Lucien shook his head.

"No, there are a few things I want to take care of first. I'll meet you at the only café in town at noon. Come on, Soul." Lucien said, and walked past Red, who just sighed and shook his head.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he's on time." I said and followed Lucien, who was muttering to himself. I glanced back at the gym one more time, and then shook my head. It figured that we had to play babysitter, even after all that we had done. And it was probably precisely what Lucien wanted. He may seem distant and disconnected, but he could read the world better than I could, even without the use of aura. He wanted to be right in the thick of the action, and knew that by sticking with those two, he would be.


	11. Chapter 11

**Alright, folks. Here's the next chapter. **

POV: Mars.

I stood next to April, glaring at Misty, who was across the pool. Platforms were placed on the water so that land Pokémon could stand on them. Her Seaking grinned at April from in the water, bobbing up and down.

"This will be a three on three match. I won't take it easy on you, I heard from Brock that you're pretty strong." Misty said. April nodded.

"I wouldn't expect you to. Alright, I choose you, Thunder!" April said. Thunder appeared on a platform, steadied himself, and then twirled his arms testily.

"Begin!" The ref shouted. Seaking dove into the water, and April grinned.

"Thunder, use thunder shock on the water!" April shouted. Thunder twirled his arms and shocked the water, electrocuting everything in it.

"Seaking! Jump out of the water and use horn attack!" Seaking burst out of the water, electricity crackling off of it, aiming straight at Thunder.

"Hit it with another thunder shock!" April called. Thunder did so, fainting Seaking in the process. However, Seaking's momentum carried it forwards, causing it to slam into Thunder, knocking them both into the water. Misty recalled Seaking as Thunder clambered out of the water, holding his shoulder and glaring at Misty. Misty sent out Starmie next, who was impossible to both read and talk to. Starmie don't have faces or mouths. Starmie were just weird.

"Starmie, use rapid spin!" Misty called. "And use hydro pump while you're spinning!" Misty said. Starmie obliged, spinning quickly and blasting water all over the place.

"Dodge and use thunder shock!" April called. Thunder jumped into the air, firing a thunder shock. Starmie was hit by it but kept going, simply using the force of hydro pump to redirect it towards Thunder. Starmie slammed into Thunder, rendering him unconscious. April recalled him. "Good job buddy." April said, and glared at Starmie. "Starmie's a water/psychic type, so that mean you're up, Mars." April said. I sighed and stepped onto a platform, glaring at Starmie.

"Alright, Starmie. Use hydro pump!" Misty called.

"Freeze the water with ice beam!" April called. Starmie started to shoot, and I fired, freezing the water as it came out and creating a grand ice sculpture with Starmie stuck in the middle. "Now use razor wind followed with pursuit!" I raced forwards, leaping from platform to platform, firing a razor wind as I did so. It broke through the ice, both hitting and freeing Starmie at the same time. However, it had nowhere to go, because I slammed into it at full force. Starmie was sent tumbling backwards.

"Rapid spin!" Starmie leapt up, and slammed into me with amazing force and speed. I was knocked into the water, and Starmie jumped in after me. "Swift!" The golden stars shot up at me from below, and I yelped when they hit. I managed to get to a platform, and clambered onto it.

"Mars, use ice beam and freeze the top of the water!" April called. I fired ice beam after ice beam, freezing the top of the water, creating a whole new field. Starmie was trapped beneath the ice.

"Break through with rapid spin!"

"Freeze Starmie when it comes up!" April called. I charged an ice beam and waited, hearing the cracking of ice behind me. I whirled just in time to see Starmie break through, not three feet in front of me. I fired, refreezing the hole and freezing the tip of one of Starmie's spikes in the ice. "Now wrap it up with a quick attack/pursuit combo!" April called. I grinned and slammed into Starmie, sending it flying backwards, KO'd. Misty sighed and recalled Starmie.

"You want to play with ice moves, huh? Fine, then let's play with ice moves. Cloyster, I choose you!" Misty called. The purple shell of a Pokémon appeared on the field, the shell closed, and I scowled. Now how was this going to work out? "Use Icicle Spear!" Misty called. The shell opened in a flash, and fired the icicles at me. I was sent stumbling backwards from the impact.

"Use razor wind!" I fired the blast of air, which did little more than send Cloyster's closed shell skidding backwards on the ice a few feet.

"Now use blizzard!" Misty called. Once again the shell opened, and Cloyster fired, the freezing winds chilling me to the bone. I shivered and fell to the ground, slowly standing back up.

"Alright, use razor wind, but don't fire until I say." April warned. I nodded and charged the razor wind, waiting for my opportunity. I was breathing hard, and knew I wouldn't survive another attack. I just needed to damage Cloyster as much as I could before I fainted.

"Water pulse!" Cloyster opened its shell once more, the ball of water already charged.

"Fire!" April called. I fired, whipping my head forwards just at Cloyster fired his attack. The two attacks passed by each other without touching, hitting both of us at the same time. I was sent flying backwards, and I knew I was done. April ran up to me, and helped me to my feet. I had hit the wall of the pool, where April could easily help me. I lay down next to her, barely keeping myself from blacking out. That water pulse was a hard hitting attack.

"We're both down to one Pokémon now." Misty said. April nodded, and grabbed Burn's pokeball.

"Alright, Burn! I choose you!" April called. Burn appeared on the field, glaring at Cloyster. "Alright Burn, let's do this. Use ember!" Burn reared back, and began to glow with the light of evolution. This snapped me right to, having caught my interest. Burn began to change, growing in height and size, and revealed a Charmeleon, a massive blast of fire already charged.

"DIE!" Burn roared, and unleashed the blast of fire. It raced across the field and struck Cloyster with astounding force, sending Cloyster rolling backwards. I blinked in surprise. So, he'd learned flamethrower when he evolved. And what an impressive flamethrower it was. Cloyster's half of the field was no longer covered in ice, but instead, was now steaming water.

"Cloyster, use water pulse!" Cloyster popped up out of the steaming water and fired.

"Block it with dragon rage!" April called. Burn complied, firing the purple flames, which blasted straight through the water pulse and collided with Cloyster's shell. I grinned. So that was April's strategy. Dragon rage was a move that caused a certain amount of damage, so long as it connected. Cloyster's shell cracked open a tiny bit from the blast. "Now use scratch! Open Cloyster's shell!" Burn launched himself forwards, his claws glowing in an attack that I recognized as slash, not scratch. I raised my eyebrows. So he'd learned two new moves when he'd evolved. Burn landed on the platform next to Cloyster, and his claws connected with Cloyster's shell, slipping into the opening. Burn started to heave, slowly opening the shell.

"Use blizzard!" Misty called.

"Flamethrower!" April shouted. Cloyster's shell popped open, revealing a fully charged blizzard, which was met with a fully charged flamethrower. They fired simultaneously, with Burn's flamethrower easily overcoming the blizzard. Burn let go of Cloyster, who rolled over, unconscious. The ref blew a whistle.

"Cloyster is unable to battle! The winner is April!" He shouted. April grinned and gave Burn a hug when he ran up to her.

"Great job, Burn!" She said happily. "Have a good rest." She said, and recalled him. I sighed and stood up, watching as Misty approached April, laughing and shaking her head.

"Brock was right, you are strong." She said, handing April a badge. "To think, I was beat by a fire type. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to redeem myself against your friend. You ready?" Misty asked, turning to the stands. James nodded vigorously and ran to the platform. April and I walked to the stands, sitting down to watch his match. First, Misty sent out Golduck, and James sent out Vulpix. He managed to confuse Golduck with a confuse ray, and then just sent a barrage of attacks at it. Vulpix was KO'd with one hit once Golduck snapped out of it. Next up was Kirlia, who beat Golduck with confusion, catching it and slamming it against the walls and ceiling.

Misty then sent out a Quagsire, which was a mistake. Kirlia's magical leaf completely destroyed Quagsire, it didn't even stand a chance. Kirlia was defeated by Misty's next Pokémon, a Corsola that knew recover, which was a pain. James then sent out Nidorina, who had a long and drawn out battle against Corsola before finally coming out on top. Misty handed James his badge, and we left for the Pokémon center.

I sighed with relief stretching out in the sun. After the Pokémon center, we had run into Red, who invited us to lunch and wanted us to meet one of his friends. The café served both people and Pokémon, so everyone was let out of their pokeballs to eat, minus Red's team. I looked at Burn, who was happily munching on his food.

"So, Burn. I was just wondering…why did you yell die when you evolved?" I asked. Burn looked up at me and shrugged.

"Dunno. Got kinda pissed, evolved, and shouted the first thing that came to mind." Burn answered, going back to his food.

"Uh huh." I said skeptically. "Sure. Well, I guess it kind of makes sense, fire types to tend to be more…volatile than other types." I said. Burn glanced up at me, grinned, and then went back to his food. Vulpix glared at me from across her bowl of food.

"I heard that." She snapped.

"I rest my case." I said with a sigh. "Thank you, Vulpix." She just growled and went back to her food.

"There you are, Red. Sorry I'm a little late. I had to, uh…_persuade_ someone to give me info." A man said. I turned to look at him. Trench coat guy was walking up to use, his Lucario following. He grinned at Red, and Red stood up, grinning.

"Nice to see you actually showed up, Lucien. April, James, I'd like you to meet my old friend Lucien. He helped me take care of team Rocket six years back, and he's also the man who protected you from those grunts yesterday." Red said.

"Th-Thank you for saving us." April said. Lucien shrugged.

"No big deal. You looked like you needed help." Lucien said. James grinned and stood up.

"You helped Red? The champion? You must be pretty strong then, huh?" James asked. Lucien shrugged.

"Well, I'm not _that _strong." Lucien said, sitting down at the table. Red sat down too, and laughed.

"Modest, as always. He's insanely strong. For the past six or seven years, he's been helping dissolve the criminal organizations in the Kalos, Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Unova, and Sinnoh regions. He's always in the background, though." Red explained. Lucien just sighed and shook his head.

"Team Rocket's the most persistent. This will be the third time I've had to deal with them." Lucien said with a sigh. "It's getting really annoying." Red nodded in agreement.

"Wow, so then, you helped with the Rayquaza crisis two years back?" James said. Lucien nodded. "Then why haven't I heard about you? From what I heard, Sapphire, Ruby, and Emerald took care of them by themselves." Lucien shrugged.

"I don't like the spotlight. But enough about me. So I hear you two are going on a gym challenge, huh?" Lucien asked. April and James nodded together, and Red cursed. "What?" Lucien asked. Red stood up and let Jake out of his pokeball.

"I've got to run. There's an Elite Four meeting in an hour, and I need to get to Vermillion City. I'll see you guys later." Red said, and jumped onto the back Jake, who promptly took to the skies. I shook my head and turned back to my food.

"Well, that was rude." Lucien muttered, and shook his head. "Anyways, I was wondering if I could travel with you guys for a while." Lucien said, looking back at April and James.

"W-what? Why?" April asked, taken aback. I narrowed my eyes at Lucien. That was kind of sudden. What was this about?

"Oh, this, that, and some other reasons." Lucien said, waving his hand as if to dismiss it. Then he grew serious and leaned forwards. "Plus, there's been a lot of chatter in the criminal underworld about your Absol, April. Do you know how much Absol horns go for on the black market? It'll make you a target. That and it's rumored that your Absol is the only one in the Kanto region, which just paints a larger target on his back." Lucien said. Then he grinned. "That and I need some human interaction. I've been stuck on top of a mountain for the past year or so, and I'd like to get out and about again. So, what do you say?" I glanced up at Lucario, who looked down at me.

"Is that true, Lucario?" I asked. Lucario nodded and shrugged.

"Yep. Absol horns sell for about five times their weight in gold. It's pretty sickening. And by the way, my name's Soul." Soul said. I nodded. Lucario were among the most honest of Pokémon, so I trusted what he said. It's just not in their nature to lie.

"Thanks." I said, turning back to my food.

"Your Lucario can talk?! That's awesome!" James said, standing up and running over to him. I glanced at April, who was looking at me worriedly.

"Is this ok with you, Mars?" She asked. I studied Lucien for a moment. The way he talked, the way he sat, the way he simply threw things out into the open, the way he had tossed aside those three Rocket grunts from yesterday. He seemed like a very honest person, if a little withdrawn. Plus, Red knew him, so he couldn't be all that bad. I nodded.

"Sure. I don't see why not." I said. April nodded and looked back at Lucien, nodding shyly.

"Then sure, you can come with us." April said. Lucien grinned.

"Alright, cool. Thanks for letting me tag along. Where you guys going next?" Lucien asked. April shrugged.

"I was thinking of going to Saffron City. It's the middle of the region, so…" April trailed off, and Lucien nodded.

"Good. Saffron City is good. I'll be able to find plenty of info there. Shall we be off, then?" Lucien asked. James nodded.

"Sure. We just need to get some stuff from the Pokémon center, and then we can go." James said. Lucien nodded, and he and April stood up.

"Alright. Then let's go." He said.


	12. Chapter 12

**A chapter entirely from the POV of Kirlia. Enjoy. **

POV: Kirlia

I walked alongside James as we headed down Route 5. The sun was beginning to set, and I knew that we wouldn't make it to Saffron City today, which was disappointing. It wasn't like I hated sleeping outside, but it was just…different from sleeping in a bed. James talked to Lucien, who I found to be suspiciously open. It was easy to read what emotions were going through him, which seemed to be mostly happy, despite his demeanor.

"Alright, what do you say we camp here for the night? At this rate, we won't reach Saffron until about midnight." Lucien said. James nodded.

"Sure." He said. "What do you think, April?" He asked. April shrugged.

"I'd finally get to use my new sleeping bag if we did." She said. I glanced at her pack and wondered how she fit a sleeping bag inside. James' sleeping bag was tied to the bottom of his backpack, with the pockets of the pack crammed with clothes and miscellaneous other things. Lucien didn't carry a pack, which I thought was odd.

"Alright. There's a campground about a mile up the road, so we'll camp there." Lucien said. James nodded, and we kept walking. Mars and Soul were walking next to their respective trainers, keeping me from talking to anyone. I sighed with boredom. What to do…I looked up at James. Messing with him was always fun. I reached forwards and grabbed his leg.

"What-?" He said, shaking me off, refraining from running. I leapt onto his back, giggling. "Hey! No, get off!" He shouted, pushing me off. I started to attack him again, but he took off running. "No! Get away from me!" He yelled. I giggled and chased after him. His reactions were so funny. I vaguely registered Soul talking to Mars.

"Do they do this often?" Soul asked. Mars sighed, and I knew he was shaking his head.

"Yes. It's a daily routine." He said. I grinned and continued to chase after James, who turned around, pokeball in hand.

"Return!" He shouted, and recalled me. I sighed as I was sucked into the ball, the world twisting in a red glow. Being inside a pokeball is like sleeping while being aware of what's going on around you. Sometimes you would dream, sometimes not. For the past two days, I'd been getting a visitor, which I'm sure is not supposed to happen.

"Hello again, Kirlia." Darkrai said. I looked around the pitch-black interior. It was still as dull as ever. I looked back at Darkrai. I still couldn't read his emotions; I seemed to have that problem with dark types. It really bugged me.

"Hi." I said cautiously. Darkrai chuckled.

"Still don't trust me, eh? Well I don't blame you. I am the ruler of nightmares, after all. Anyways, I just wanted to have a quick chat before we truly meet." He said. I blinked in surprise.

"You mean I'm going to meet you? Like, in person?" I asked. Darkrai nodded.

"Yes. Tonight, actually. Speaking of which, I think it's time for dinner. Adios." Darkrai said. I was sucked out of the pokeball, and stood on the ground in front of James, who placed a bowl of food in front of me. The camp had already been set up, there were no tents, but two sleeping bags lay on the ground. Lucien was roasting food on a stick over the fire, while April munched on a bag of Jerky. I reached out and touched Lucien's mind, trying to read his thoughts. Reading his emotions was easy, his thoughts, not so much.

_Out._ His mind yelled, forcing me out with relative ease. I sighed. So much for that.

"Alright, Kirlia, Nidorina, Vulpix. Tomorrow's a big day for us. We're going to get the Saffron city gym badge in one go." James said. I noticed that Nidorina and Vulpix had been let out too.

"Sure. And while I'm getting destroyed by the psychic types, you can flirt with Kirlia." Nidorina said through a mouthful of food. I glared at her.

"Knock it off, Nidorina. I just like teasing him." I said, nibbling on a bit of food. "It's more fun that way, don't you think?" I asked. Nidorina sighed and shook her head.

"If you say so, Kirlia." She muttered. I shook my head, looking over to where Mars was sitting. He looked relaxed enough, lying with his head resting on his paws, with his eyes half closed. James sat down next to Nidorina and patted her on the head, twisting a stone in his hands. Nidorina looked at it and sighed.

"What's that?" I asked. Nidorina glanced at me, and shook her head.

"I found that moon stone in Mount Moon when we were passing through. It'll make me evolve if I touch it. I assume that he'll evolve me now, if not soon." Nidorina said. I shook my head.

"He wouldn't without asking you first." I said. James sighed and tucked the stone in his pocket, patting Nidorina on the head and walking over to the fire. "See?" Nidorina shrugged and went back to eating. Suddenly, Mars' head shot up, and he looked towards the woods.

"What is it, Mars?" April asked. I scanned the woods with my psychic energy, and found nothing. So what was the problem?

"Nothing." Mars muttered. "That's the problem." I scanned the woods again. What did he mean by that? Then it struck me. I should be sensing the minds of hundreds of other Pokémon, which seemed to be nonexistent at the moment.

"Don't worry about it. It's probably just a Persian hunting or something." Lucien said, surprising me. "It's seriously nothing to worry about." He said, and removed his food from the fire, taking a big bite. "Not bad." He muttered, and dug in. I shuddered at the thought of what it might be. Two hours later, and everyone was asleep, excluding me, Mars, and Soul.

"So, Soul. Who exactly is Lucien?" Mars asked. Soul smiled.

"You think you can get information from me because I'm a Lucario, huh?" Soul said. Mars nodded.

"Yep. Pretty much." He said. Soul laughed and shook his head.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not going to tell you. Lucien's a great guy, but he's a bit reclusive. He likes his secrets, but will tell you in due time." Soul said. Mars nodded.

"Alright." He said.

"Hey, Soul." I said quietly, nervously looking around the forest. "Have you ever heard of a Pokemon called Darkrai?" I asked. I got the feeling he would be coming soon.

"Yeah, you could say that." Soul said. I nodded.

"Well, uh-" I was cut off because a cold wind began to blow, sending a shiver up my spine. Soul nodded, and turned towards the fire.

"_Mars. Kirlia." _A voice said. It sounded like the wind blowing, or water running.

"I see. Well, you two had best be off. Wouldn't want to keep them waiting." Soul said.

"Wh-what do you mean?" I asked. Mars stood up, watching Soul carefully.

"I'm going to want an explanation when I get back." Mars said, and looked at me. "That was Suicune. I've met him once before, and I guess Soul has too, judging from his response. I'm going to go meet him. It's up to you whether or not to come, even though he called your name." Mars said, walking off in the direction of the voice. I stood up and chased after him. It was about a mile walk from where we were camped that we came across a small pond, with Suicune sitting in the middle. My mouth dropped open, and he smiled.

"Hello, Mars. Kirlia." He said. Mars just glared at him.

"Tell me, did you send Tyranitar that night?" He snapped. I glared at him. This was a legendary Pokémon, you don't talk to them like that! Suicune just smiled and nodded.

"Yes. Sorry about that, I had to test you, make sure you were worthy." Suicune said. "And, as expected, you passed with flying colors." Mars muttered the word worthy under his breath, and then groaned.

"Oh, please don't tell me I'm the 'chosen one,' or anything like that." Mars groaned. "That would be way too much work and terribly cliché." Mars said. Suicune laughed at his comment, leaving me to wonder what was going on.

"No, no. You are not the chosen one." Suicune said with a chuckle. "Arceus has chosen another for that role." Mars sighed with relief. "But that doesn't mean you aren't a player." Mars groaned at that.

"The same goes for you, Kirlia." A voice said next to me, causing me to yelp and leap to the side. Darkrai had, _literally, _appeared right next to me. He laughed. "Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. Anyways, Suicune, we need to go. They'll take notice soon." Darkrai warned. Suicune nodded.

"Yes. I understand. Mars, I come here with a warning. Saffron city will be dangerous, and a likely place for your next test. This test will not me a test of my design, but rather, one of Lugia's. Beware of him. Lugia tends to go…overboard." Suicune said.

"Thanks. Anything else I should know?" Mars asked. Suicune shook his head.

"My time is up. I will leave you now, wishing you the best of luck. I will see you soon enough." Suicune said and raced off. Darkrai laid a hand on my shoulder, causing me to shudder.

"Dialga will want to test you too. I know not when, but it will happen." Darkrai said, and disappeared into the shadows. I shuddered, and Mars studied me.

"You ok?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. Darkrai just…creeps me out." I said. Mars nodded, his eyes glazing over in thought. "Let's get back to camp." I said. Mars nodded in agreement, and we headed back towards camp, where Soul was waiting for us. James, April, and Lucien were still asleep, and Soul smiled at us.

"So? How were Suicune and Darkrai?" He asked. Mars nodded.

"Fine. They came to warn us. How do you know Suicune and Darkrai?" Mars asked. Soul shrugged.

"We've come into contact with, literally, every 'chosen one' in all the regions, thus coming into contact with every legendary. I was Lucien's first Pokémon, and, in case you haven't figured it out yet, he has a knack for sniffing out trouble. That's why he decided to come with you. You guys, for whatever reasoning, are danger magnets, and that's where Lucien wants to be. Right in the thick of it." Soul said.

"Ok, so you're saying that you guys have traveled across the world and met every single legendary Pokémon? Are you nuts?" I said. Soul thought for a second and then held his hands about an inch apart. "A little. Great." I muttered. Soul laughed.

"I'm not asking you to believe me, but it's the truth. As for Suicune and Darkrai…I cannot fathom why they would want to talk to you two. Either way, it's best not to dwell on it. Get some sleep." Soul said, and walked back over to his tree, closing his eyes. Mars grunted and lay down next to April, seeming strangely calm about the situation. I, for one, was beginning to freak out. I turned towards James, who had sweat on his brow. He was having nightmares again, I assume because of Darkrai. I placed my hand on his forehead, calming his mind, and watched as his face relaxed. I smiled.

"'Night, James." I muttered, and lay down next to Nidorina and Vulpix, promptly falling asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry about that last chapter, guys. I know it's not my best work and I apologize. Hopefully this one's better. Enjoy. **

POV: Mars

I looked around nervously, scanning the city for danger. Ever since we got here, I had a strange sense of foreboding. My horn hadn't been tingling, but still... I shook my head. I need to focus. April and James were planning to take the Saffron City gym challenge, and Lucien had gone off to gather information on Team Rocket. We had gotten to Saffron early this morning, and after a quick little chat with the guard we managed to get inside. Now, we were standing in front of the Saffron city gym, preparing for battle.

"Alright, Mars. Are you ready?" April asked. I nodded.

"Sure. Why not? A psychic type gym should be easy enough." I said. April smiled, and we walked into the gym.

"James, you coming?" April asked. James was staring at the dojo next door.

"No, I'm going to train there first. I'll see you guys later." James said, and ran into the dojo. I shrugged, and we walked into the gym. It was dimly lit, with nothing but candles for lighting, giving it an eerie look. I looked around nervously, and then shook my head, clearing it. I need to focus. I glared across the room towards the gym leader, who stood up with a small smile.

"Hello. My name is Sabrina, and I am both the psychic type gym leader of Saffron city, and a psychic. I foresaw your arrival. Shall we begin?" Sabrina asked. April nodded. "Ok. Then Alakazam, I choose you." Sabrina said.

"Mars, you're up." April said. I nodded and walked onto the battlefield, smiling at Alakazam.

"Yo. No hard feelings, right?" I asked. Alakazam nodded silently, looking at me with…was that pity? I blinked and stared at him hard. Yes, he was definitely pitying me. What the hell was that about? I don't need his pity. I was starting to get angry, and didn't even notice when the ref said begin.

"Pursuit!" April called. I raced forwards, looking to run right into Alakazam. He charged an attack and fired, causing me to leap out of the way. "Wh-what?! But you didn't call an attack!" April said. Sabrina nodded, looking at me with the same eyes as Alakazam.

"Yes. That is because I can connect to him telepathically. You will not see his attacks coming." Sabrina said. I leapt out of the way of another of Alakazam's attacks, which looked like a focus blast, and started growling. A focus blast sailed over my head, and I leapt backwards.

"Alright, Mars get in close with quick attack and then use pursuit!" April called. I raced forwards, speed pouring through my legs, racing around Alakazam, who remained perfectly calm. I leapt forwards, running directly at Alakazam, who whirled, a focus blast already charged. I cursed and leapt into the air, barely dodging the focus blast. My momentum carried me forwards, and I brought my horn down on Alakazam, a new power flowing through it. Alakazam stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, KO'd.

"Mars, was that night slash?" April asked. I thought for a moment.

"Probably. Now who's next?" I asked, turning to Sabrina, who was still staring at me with those same eyes. I made it official. I'm going sweep her team, and then see if she looked at me the same. Sabrina sent out her next Pokémon without a word, which turned out to be a Hypno. He watched me impassively.

"Mars, use razor wind!" April called. I nodded and did as she asked, firing the blast at Hypno, who stopped it with a psychic attack. I leapt to the side as it was sent flying back to me, and found myself staring right into Hypno's pendulum. "No!" April yelled, and I slammed my eyes shut, avoiding they hypnosis attack. "Great! Now use night slash!" April yelled. I brought my horn down on Hypno, who had nowhere to go, being right in front of me. He stumbled backwards, but wasn't KO'd. "Finish him off with quick attack!" April yelled. I kept my eyes shut and barreled forwards, slamming into Hypno, who fainted with a grunt. When I opened my eyes, the world was swirling around me, and jumbled thoughts my were.

"Reako, Smra?" Voice a said. Shook head I, thoughts clear try.

"Novethom, xicot!" Sabrina yelled. Hit was I, recognize poison as it. Did wall hit I. Maybe attack try should I? In an instant, my thought became clear, and I found myself facing April, an ice beam charged. How did I get here?

"Behind you!" April called. I whirled around to see a Venomoth charging at me. I loosed the ice beam, getting a direct hit, and winced, feeling poison working its way through my system. Venomoth flew up to the ceiling, circling above me. "How did you confuse Mars?" April demanded.

"Hypno fired confusion at Mars at the last second. Even if the attack might not have done any damage, it still managed to confuse him." Sabrina explained. I growled at Venomoth, who was grinning down at me.

"You know, all I have to do is sit up here and wait until you faint from poison." He taunted. I growled.

"I'll knock you down before then." I muttered.

"Use razor wind!" April called. Venomoth blocked it with a psychic, sending it crashing into the ceiling four feet to the left. I growled again, and glared at him. "Mars, use ice beam repeatedly!" I nodded and charged an ice beam, firing it. It was closely followed by another. And another. And another. Venomoth was managing to block them all with psychic, but he was getting tired. In a flash, he dodged another one and came right down towards me. "Now, use night slash!" April called. I finished firing another ice beam, which Venomoth dodged, and leapt forwards, slamming into Venomoth. I stood on top of him, pinning his wings to the ground.

"I win." I said. Venomoth nodded.

"I would say so. I can't even lift you off with psychic." He said. Sabrina sighed and recalled Venomoth, smiling sadly at me. "Quit looking at me like that." I snapped, and walked over to April, who hugged me.

"You were amazing!" April beamed. I smiled and shrugged, sitting down next to her.

"The question is; when am I not?" I asked. She smiled, shook her head, and handed me a pecha berry. I ate it in one bite, feeling it force the poison out of my system.

"I foresaw this defeat. Congratulations. You beat the Saffron city gym." Sabrina said, handing April a badge. She looked at me once more sadly. "And here, I have a gift for you. It is two TMs, containing iron tail and shadow claw. You might need them in the future…" Sabrina said, glancing at me sadly once more. I huffed and turned away.

"Th-thanks, but I can't accept these." April said, pushing the two TMs back at Sabrina.

"No, keep them. I insist." She said. "Just…be careful. Night in this city can be…exceptionally dangerous." Sabrina said, and walked back towards her side of the arena. "Now I will await the challenge of your friend." She said, and sat down, assuming a meditative pose. I looked at her for a second, an idea coming to mind. She said at the beginning that she was a psychic, so she might know the future. If that was true, then her warning was no coincidence.

"Come on, Mars. Let's get you healed at the Pokémon center." April said. I nodded, and followed her.

"Yeah…" I muttered, my senses on high alert. This was probably what Suicune had been talking about, Lugia's test. I looked around nervously. It was definitely not a coincidence, receiving a warning from a legendary Pokémon and a psychic within a day's time. I would have to be on extra high alert.

"Yo! Hey, April!" James called, running out of the dojo, and holding a black belt. "You should train in there next. We swept the place, especially Kirlia, but it really was great training. How did your gym battle go?" James asked. April beamed down at me.

"Mars beat the entire gym." She said proudly, holding up her new gym badge for James to see.

"Woah! Cool! Alright, well I'm going to go heal my Pokémon, and then I'm going to challenge the gym. What are you going to do?" James asked. April glanced at the dojo, and then down at me.

"Do you mind if we go try the dojo before the Pokémon center?" April asked. I shrugged.

"Sure. I'm not that hurt, so I should be fine. Use Burn and Thunder more than me, though. Those two still need more training." I said, nodding.

"Alright, then let's go!" She said, and ran towards the dojo.

"Good luck!" James called after us, and ran off towards the Pokémon center. I was oblivious to the three people watching us from the shadows, quietly plotting amongst themselves.

POV CHANGE: Suicune

I glared at Lugia as he watched Mars with a small grin on his face.

"No." I said. He turned towards me, his face turning stone cold.

"Yes." He said, his voice causing the entire place to rumble. We were inside of his home in the Whirl Islands, and he was watching Mars through a psychic connection. Currently, I was standing on the top of the waterfall, Lugia having come out of hiding to greet me.

"No. That is going too far." I said, taking a step forwards. Lugia shook his head.

"I will not argue with you over this. It is going to happen." He said, and turned away. I could catch mere glimpses of what was going on in Saffron. Right now, April was training Burn and Thunder in the fighting dojo, getting them good and tired. That was exactly as Lugia wanted.

"Damn you, Lugia." I snapped, and turned around, racing away. _Where are you going, Suicune? _Lugia asked, his voice booming in my mind. I gritted my teeth, and turned up the steps towards the exit. "To warn him, that's where." I said. _It is too late. You will not get there in time. _Lugia said. I cursed him again. "I'm still going. I have to try. This is ridiculous and unnecessary, Lugia. I already deemed him worthy." I said. He was silent, even though I knew he had heard me. I cursed his stubbornness, and continued to run, bursting out of the cave and racing across the ocean, praying that I wouldn't be too late.


	14. Chapter 14

**Enjoy, my wonderful followers. **

I stretched out and yawned, feeling the knots in my muscles loosen. It had been a long day. Between beating Sabrina and training at the dojo, I was completely worn out. Burn and Thunder were currently being treated by Nurse Joy, having taken a lot of damage from the dojo's Pokémon. I had pretty much recovered from Sabrina's battle at this point, and hadn't fought much in the dojo, so I didn't feel like I needed any care. April was currently sitting in a chair, waiting for Burn and Thunder to be healed, and talking with James, who had somehow managed to win against Sabrina. Apparently Vulpix had learned the move hex, and had taken out two of Sabrina's Pokémon . Lucien walked in the door, followed by Soul.

"Hey, you guys want to go get some dinner? Red's going to be there." He said. April thought for a minute and nodded.

"Sure. I've just got to wait until Burn and Thunder are healed, and then sure." April said.

"How long will that take?" Lucien asked.

"Honey, it will be another hour until your Pokémon are healed. You run along and I'll have them ready by the time you get back." Nurse Joy said, obviously having been listening to their conversation. April sighed and then stood up.

"Ok. It's not like I plan to have any battles anyways. And if I do end up having a battle, I'll have Mars. Right Mars?" April asked, turning to me. I shrugged and stood up.

"I guess." I said with a shrug. "Maybe I'll just take a nap instead though." April shook her head at me and grinned.

"James? What about you?" Lucien asked. James was already halfway out the door when Lucien asked this.

"Of course I'm going! Come on, don't fall behind." James said, and walked out the door. We waited for a second, and he popped his head back through the door. "So, uh, where exactly are we going?" He asked. Lucien shook his head with a small laugh.

"It's a small restaurant about twenty blocks from here, close to the Silph Corporation tower. I'll take you there, don't worry. Ready, April?" Lucien said. April nodded and held the door open for me.

"Come on, Mars." She said. I trotted out the door and walked next to her. People walked down the streets, but it seemed strangely empty for this time of day. Lucien led us through the streets, weaving in-between people and street vendors, slowly making our way towards the large purple tower in the center of the city, labeled Silph Co. We passed the large tower, and entered a small restaurant named 'The Green Hydreigon.' I couldn't help but wonder what kind of people named their restaurant after a shiny Pokémon.

"Hey! You made it on time, Lucien!" Red said, waving us over to a table. He winked at Lucien. "Don't worry, the owners have all but closed the restaurant to other people. I know how much you like your privacy. Now, if only Green would show up, we could begin." He said.

"What, so Blue isn't going to show up? Aw, I thought we were going to get the gang back together." Lucien said. Red shrugged.

"No, unfortunately he's got to tend to the gym. So it'll just be us and Green." Red said. Lucien nodded, and sat down at the table with James and April. I lay down next to where Soul was sitting, quietly listening to the conversation.

"So, who's Green?" I asked. Soul shrugged.

"She helped out with taking out Team Rocket six years ago. Now she's the best member of the Kanto Elite Four, right underneath Red. She can be kind of…eccentric. You'll see what I mean when you meet her." Soul said. I nodded and went back to listening to their conversation. Red was waving away a waiter, who nodded, bowed awkwardly, and hurried back to the kitchen.

"As I was saying, Lucien, have you discovered anything else about the movements of Team Rocket since you've been here? Our meeting in Vermillion was absolutely pointless and didn't get us anywhere." Red said. Lucien snorted and nodded.

"Yes, actually. I persuaded some low-life's to give me info. I'll need your help with it tonight." Lucien said. April glanced quickly between the two, and then spoke up.

"Uh, you say persuade. What do you mean by that? Like bribe or something?" April asked. Lucien looked at her and laughed.

"Girlie, I hurt people." Lucien said with a little grin. "Rough 'em up, and a few talk. Tie them up, and more talk. Start breaking fingers, and they all talk." He said. April stared at him in shock, which made Lucien laugh even more. Soul just shook his head with a small grin.

"Don't let that fool you, though. Lucien's just a big sweetheart." Someone said in a sing-song, walking in the door. I studied her. She wore a green T-shirt, with a white hat on her head. A bag was slung over her shoulder, and she wore jeans. "Isn't that right, Lucien?" She asked with a grin. She practically bounced over to the table.

"Hello, Green." Lucien said with a sigh. "Nice to see you."

"Of course it is!" She said, and sat down in Red's lap, giving him a kiss.

"So, uh, I assume you guys are a couple then?" Lucien asked. Red turned red, laughed, scratched the back of his head and nodded.

"Yep. April, James, I'd like you to meet Green, the strongest member of the Elite Four, and my girlfriend." Red said.

"Hi." April said shyly. Green smiled, and the waiters brought out plates of food. They set down some food in front of me and Soul, and I dug in, relishing the flavor. Humans did make some good food, though I still didn't trust the Pokémon food. I had just finished when Green noticed me.

"Oh, well aren't you cute! Is that your Absol over there, April?" Green asked, looking over at me. Soul looked at me sadly.

"Well, she noticed you. Good luck." Soul said.

"Why would-" I was cut off because Green latched onto me, grinning and hugging me, rubbing her cheek against my face. "Ahhh! Get away!" I yelled, trying to pull away. Her grip was like iron, though, and I couldn't get her off. Green proceeded to try and brush my fur with her fingers, and ran her other hand along my horn, admiring it. April giggled, and shook her head.

"Green, I don't think he likes that." She said. I twisted around, managing to get free of the psychotic woman, and raced over to hide behind April. Green pouted, looking at me with big watery eyes. She reminded me of a child.

"Aww, you're no fun." Green said. Lucien sighed.

"You never change, do you, Green?" Lucien asked, shaking his head. "So, Red. Like I said earlier, I'm going to need your assistance investigating Silph. From what I could dig up, it looks like they might have a few people working for Team Rocket. It looks like they're the ones funding the whole operation. You game?" Lucien asked. Red looked at him excitedly.

"Will it be like last time?" He asked. Lucien grinned and nodded.

"Definitely." He said. Red laughed.

"Awesome. I'm in." He said.

"Uh, what was last time like?" James asked. Red grinned.

"Spy stuff. Lots of spy stuff. Grappling hooks, rappel lines, lasers, night vision, black clothes. It was loads of fun. You want to come? I'll make sure you don't get into too much trouble." Red said. James thought for a moment and then nodded excitedly.

"Yes! I've always wanted to be a spy." He said.

"Hey! Lucien, that reminds me. I've got you lined up with an interview with a famous reporter. She has been very interested in you, and even came to ask me questions about you. I decided it would be best if you told her, so I told her that I'd get you to have an interview with her aboard the S.S. Sakurabisu. It'll be in about three weeks, so be there. If you don't I'll have an interview with her and tell her all about you. I won't hold back. OK? Good!" Green said in one breath. I wondered how she did it. She must have enormous lungs. Lucien stared at her open mouthed, and Red just shook his head with a sigh.

"You did what?!" Lucien asked. Green opened her mouth to speak, but Lucien cut her off. "I hate you so much, Green. Fine. I'll have an interview with your stupid reporter. That way I can moderate what's said." Lucien said. Green beamed at him.

"Sorry, but what's so important about that? Why would someone want to interview Lucien?" April asked. Green laughed.

"Sweetie, you remember the masked man from the PWT a few years back, the one who beat every single champion, from Kanto to Kalos?" Green asked. I could tell that Lucien was holding back a silent fury.

"Yeah. Why?" April asked, and then glanced at Lucien worriedly.

"Well, he's been tracking down info on the guy for years, and is the only one who might know his whereabouts. No one's seen hide nor hair from the guy in years. Plus, she's been doing her research and has recognized Lucien's involvement in the downfall of all those crime organizations over the years, so she's doing a double story. One on him, and one on the masked man. It's a double kill, and will get Lucien the recognition he deserves!" Green explained. Lucien stood up, and recalled Soul into his pokeball.

"God, Green, I hate you so much. I'm going to get you back for this. Red, James, let's go. I want to hurt people." Lucien said, and stormed out the door. Green giggled, and shook her head.

"So, now what?" James asked. Red shook his head.

"We follow Lucien. Green, you know better than that. You know Lucien likes his secrecy. Lay off once in a while, ok? He doesn't want to be in the spotlight, so don't force him to be." Red said. Green sighed and nodded.

"Ok. I'll try. But no promises! Well, I've got to run. Duty calls, right?" Green said, and walked out the door. Red looked down at April.

"You want to come?" He asked. April shook her head, and Red nodded.

"Alright. We'll see you later. Come on James. Let's go find Lucien." He said, and walked out the door, followed by James. April stood up and smiled down at me.

"Let's go, Mars." She said, and we walked out the door. Thirty minutes later and we were lost, wandering aimlessly down the streets. I looked around nervously. I didn't like the looks of this. The sun had gone down, and the street we were on had literally no people on it. A single street lamp lit up the street, making it look like a bad horror film. I cleared my throat.

"Uh, April. Maybe we should backtrack." I whispered, peering into an alley. My horn suddenly started going nuts. This was not good. April was about to respond when thugs started to filter out of the buildings. There were at least twenty of them, each with a Pokémon and holding some sort of weapon. I glared around at them. Yep. Definitely not good.

"M-Mars…" April whimpered. I looked behind us. There was an open alley way, and looked like our only means of escape. The thugs had already surrounded us.

"Into the alley." I said with a curse. At least in alleys, they could only come at us from one direction. April nodded, and we ran into the alley, turning a corner, only to find that we had run into a dead end. There was a wooden fence blocking us.

"Hohoho. What, did you think that running away would help you? No, that Absol of yours is going to make us rich. We wouldn't let such a prize get away." A thug said behind us. I growled and whirled around, glaring at the line of thugs. The leader wore a black leather jacket with the sleeves torn off, and had a machete resting on his shoulder, the handle lightly gripped in one hand. A few more thugs appeared in the windows of the buildings around us, and I cursed.

"N-No! I-I won't let you have Mars!" April yelled, balling her fists. She took a step forwards, but I blocked her, putting myself between her and the thugs.

"No, April. What will you be able to do against a thug like him? Let me handle this." I said, trying to sound confident. April was silent.

"Mightyena, use bite!" The man called. His two Mightyena raced out from behind him, growling and snapping at me. I launched myself forwards, firing a razor wind and knocking them back. "Well? Get him!" The thug called. Suddenly there were dozens of Pokémon, all converging on me. In an instant, I disappeared underneath the swarming masses.

**POV CHANGE: April**

I watched in horror as Mars, my precious partner and best friend, disappeared underneath the dozens of Pokémon. There were Primeape, Golbat, Mightyena, even Beedrill and Butterfree. The thug in the back snorted, and turned towards me, twirling a chain. Machete guy was watching the heap with a satisfied grin. Chain dude grinned maliciously at me, and I took a fearful step backwards. I was trembling. There was nothing I could do. Nothing. My eyes began to water, and the thug laughed.

"Well, we can't leave you running around telling the cops about this, can we? So come along nicely, and I won't have to hurt you." The thug said, grabbing my arm. I slapped his hand away, recoiling. His face turned sour, and he backhanded me, sending me crashing to the ground with a yelp. My face stung, and I could taste blood. Why was this happening? I glanced at the pile. Mars…

"You need a lesson in respect." The thug said, grabbing me by the hair and hauling me up. "I don't care that you're a brat. I'll-" He was cut off by a flash of light, and by Mars, who slammed into the thug, causing him to drop me. There was a second flash, and the wooden fence preventing our escape was destroyed. I looked up to see Mars standing over me, his white fur matted and brown now. He was breathing hard, and a line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

"Run!" He yelled at me. I was frozen to the ground. He turned and looked at me, his red eyes flashing in anger and defiance. "Well? Run! I'll hold them off for as long as I can! Go get help!" He roared, and launched himself forwards once more, holding his own against the horde. "RUN!" He bellowed. My legs moved without my consent, and I found myself running, leaping over the destroyed fence and racing away, tears streaming from my face. Mars…

"WELL?! COME ON! I HAVEN'T GOT ALL BLOODY NIGHT!" Mars roared behind me. I kept running, my legs fueled with fear. I don't know how long I ran, just that I did. I ran and ran and ran and ran. When I finally collapsed, it was in front of the Pokémon center. I didn't move from my position. I just lay there, and sobbed. I had abandoned him. I had abandoned Mars. I had abandoned my best friend. And I might not see him again.

**Once more into the fray**

**Into the last good fight I'll ever know**

**Live or die on this day**

**Live or die on this day.**


	15. Chapter 15

POV: Lucien

I looked down from the top of Silph tower, examining the hundred story drop down to the street. It wouldn't even hurt if you fell. It'd just be a splat followed by darkness. I decided then that, if it came to it, I would escape by leaping off the building.

"You ready?" Red asked, tapping me on the shoulder. I turned around and looked at him. He was wearing a black shirt, black pants, a black 'commando' vest, and a black ski mask. It was painted with a white skull on it, like COD Ghosts. Night vision goggles were strapped to the top of his head, and he flipped them down. I was wearing the same thing, but with a different design on my mask. "I've got James ready to go. Let's do this." He said through the earpiece. I nodded and pulled down my goggles, flipping them on and illuminating the world in a green light. These were more effective and less noticeable than flashlights.

"James, you copy?" I said, checking to make sure my mic was working. After a bit of static, James responded.

"Yeah. I'm good to go." He said, appearing from behind Red. I nodded, and motioned for them to follow me. I checked my watch. It was 1:30 am. I opened a grate, and dropped a roped down into it, tying it off to a stake on the roof. If I was right, then this would lead us close to the elevator shafts. We'd take those down to the research floors, floors 25-34, and see what we could dig up from there. Red and I were to search those floors, while James acted as sentry. I went down first, followed by James, and then Red. At the bottom it curved and went straight to the left. I bent and forced myself into the small hole. It was a tight squeeze, and I silently groaned, feeling my gear dig into me.

"It's a tight squeeze." I said, forcing my way forwards. "Red, you stay back in case this doesn't go where I want it to. James, you stick with Red."

"Right." James voice crackled through the radio. I grunted. This vent should lead…I cursed when I saw a dead end. "It's no good. There's no exit up here. See if there's anything…hold on." I said, catching sight of a grate opening to the floor. I forced my way forwards, being careful not to make too much noise, and looked down the grate. One guard was lazily propped up against the wall, sleeping. I managed to get a pocket knife out of one of the pouches in my vest, and used the tip to unscrew the bolts. I carefully swung the grate open, and poked my head through it. There was only the one guard. I slipped the top half of my body out of the hole, hanging upside down, and pulled a gun out of its holster on my waist. I popped open the clip, making sure I had sleep darts loaded, and aimed at the guard.

"Smile for the camera." I said, and fired, the tranquilizer dart shooting out with nothing more than a slight pop. The guard jerked upwards, clutched the back of his neck, leaned against the wall again, and slid to the floor. "Alright, we're good. Come on." I said, swinging back up into the air vent. I repositioned myself and slid feet first out of the grate, landing on the floor with a slight thud. "Red, you first. Catch James when he falls out, it's about a ten foot drop." I said.

"Gotcha." Red said. I walked over to the guard and pulled the small dart out of his neck, dragging him behind a large metal box. I honestly had no idea what they did; possibly something to do with the ventilation?

"My god, did you kill him?" James asked, dropping out of the hole. I shook my head, and walked over to him, holding up the dart.

"No, this dart is covered with a liquid form of a Vileplume's sleep powder. Injects it directly into the blood stream, and lasts for about four hours. It's instantaneous and harmless, unless they happen to be standing at the top of some stairs." I explained, putting the dart in my pocket. Red shook his head.

"You get all the cool toys. Now where are we? The roof is up those stairs, so the vent didn't get us much of anywhere." He said. I nodded and looked around. Unfortunately he was right. I did all that spy stuff for nothing other than to look cool.

"What about that?" James asked, pointing at a door. I shrugged.

"Might as well try it. I don't see any other way, but as soon as we find some elevator doors, then we'll head down there. Unlike in the movies, staircases can actually be pretty well patrolled, and there are plenty of cameras." I said, walking over to the door. I cautiously opened it, peering down the hallway. A single security camera sat at the far end of the hall, where a pair of gleaming silver doors sat. Bingo. I leaned back in and nodded to the two of them.

"Got it?" Red asked. I nodded.

"Yeah." I said, and pulled out a small circular device. "This will give us 30 seconds to get the elevator doors open. The batteries don't last any longer. Ready?" I asked. James and Red nodded. "And…go." I said, flipping the device on and sprinting down the hall. The device emitted a frequency that jammed all electronics within range for thirty seconds, but no longer. I grabbed one of the doors and heaved, getting it cracked open. Red grabbed the other side, and pulled. James slipped through the hole like a pro, hooking a line to the side of the door, and putting the tip of his boots on an edge. I placed my foot against the other door, and nodded to Red, who slipped through after James. I grunted and looked at the interior. Thanks to the goggles, I could see all the beams crisscrossing the sides. I leapt through, letting go of the doors, and managing to catch a beam across from the doors with a grunt and a bang.

"You alright?" Red asked.

"Do you really need to ask?" I said, looking down. Long drop. "Let's go. In the big pouch on the front left side, there should be rappel wire. Hook it to a beam, and let's get down there. I'll tell you when to stop. I said, hooking up my rappel wire, and hooking it to my vest. (The vest doubles as a harness.) Red helped James with his, and I was temporarily reminded of Red's first excursion like this. I was fourteen, and he was ten. I had to play big brother back then. I chuckled at the thought, and started letting out the wire, rappelling down the wall. Red and James did the same.

"How far will this get us?" Red asked.

"Each spool is packed with two hundred feet of wire. It's a simulation of Ariados string, so it's incredibly strong while also being very thin. We've each got three spools, plus the one we're using. It'll get us to the 34th floor." I said.

"Gotcha." Red said. We were silent for a minute, until we ran out of our first spool of wire. I grabbed the edge and unhooked myself. I pulled a phone out of my pocket, and checked our position. It was pre-loaded with diagrams of Silph tower, with a red dot being me. About floor eighty. Still a ways to go.

"Light the string on fire, it erases all evidence. Then hook up, and move on. When I stop you stop." I said, lighting the wire on fire. It was flammable for just the purpose of erasing evidence. Hard to find it when it's nothing but ashes. I hooked up and rappelled down again, making it another hundred feet. James and Red were thirty feet behind me. We repeated this process until we ran into an elevator at about the fiftieth floor. I had watched it stop there, and found it highly suspicious. There was supposed to be nothing on the fiftieth floor…or was there? I peered through the stereotypical movie grate (seriously, why are they there? Just so the hero can make a clean getaway?), and watched two scientists exit the elevator.

"How do we get around this?" Red asked, landing next to me. I was working on getting the grate off.

"We don't. I want to check out this floor." I said. Red didn't ask any questions, and took the grate from me as I pulled it off. I slipped down into the elevator, followed by Red and James. The doors were still open, which I thought was odd. There were no guards on this floor, and I watched as the two scientists in white lab coats opened a big metal door, closing it behind them. I motioned forwards, and we walked up to the door, carefully peering down each new hallway and door. The large steel door was locked with a simple passcode lock.

"I'll keep watch. Work your magic." Red said. I nodded and went to work, jabbing my knife into a slit and working off the front panel, revealing a mess of wires. I slit a few of them, and then crossed them quickly, causing a malfunction in the controls and opening the doors.

"I'm a beast." I muttered, and slipped into the room. James and Red followed, who carefully pulled the door to. The room was well lit, and I pulled off my goggles. There were two hallways, on leading left and the other going straight "Alright. Be prepared. Red, you go left with James, I'll go straight." I said. Red nodded, and led James to the left. I walked forwards, and almost immediately encountered an obstacle. A giant, round, steel bank vault looking door blocked my path, and I cursed. Now what? There didn't seem to be any control panels. There was a groan, and the door started to lift up. I cursed and ran to a corner next to the door, barely out of sight. A single scientist walked out, holding a clipboard, and I slipped through before the door closed.

"What do we have here?" I mused, examining the three large glass tubes situated along one wall. Inside each was a single Pokémon egg, unlike anything I had ever seen. The designs were shiny and almost 3D, and were about the same size as a normal Pokémon egg. Sensors were hooked up to the eggs, and they floated in a green liquid. I pulled out my phone and started taking pictures.

"We haven't found anything. It only leads to a storage room. Nothing of interest here, unless you think TP is interesting." Red said through my earpiece. "What about you?"

"Yeah. You could say I found something. Get over here. I'll see if I can't open the door." I said, turning towards the door. There were plenty of controls on this side. "Alright, let's see. Hmm…so complex…they really don't want people coming in here…crap." I said, and hid as the second scientist came walking through the room, examining a clip board. Thankfully he hadn't noticed me. He tapped a few controls, and the door started to open. I shot the researcher with a sleep dart, while Red and James slipped through.

"What did you find?" Red asked, retrieving the dart for me and dragging the scientist off to the side.

"If I had to guess; illegal Pokémon testing. I'm going to want to take those three eggs with us. But first, we need to find a computer. I'm going to get as much data from here as I can." I said. Red nodded, and pointed to a door.

"James, check in there for a computer." He said. James nodded.

"Right." He said, and ran to the door, disappearing inside the room. Red walked over to stand in front of the eggs.

"These aren't like anything I've ever seen…" Red said. I nodded and walked up next to him. There was a flash of light, and Red's Mewtwo appeared out of his pokeball, glaring at the eggs. "Hey! You can't just come out like that!" Red said. Mewtwo ignored him and placed his hand on one of the containers. Red had caught Mewtwo about two years ago, after Red had proven his worth to Mewtwo. Now he was one of Red's strongest Pokémon, and a fearsome opponent.

"These…are experiments. Just like me." Mewtwo turned his eyes towards us, pure hatred and anger flashing through them. "You will stop them. Do not allow this to happen. Do not allow there to be any more like me." He said. I nodded. Mewtwo had a hatred for experiments, and I didn't blame him. The Rockets had mistreated him more than he let on.

"That was my plan. Since you're out, do you mind getting those eggs out for me? It'd be pointless to leave them in their hands." I said. Mewtwo nodded, and the tanks disassembled themselves. A bag appeared out of one of my pouches, and Mewtwo placed the eggs inside. I took the bag from him, and Mewtwo disappeared inside Red's pokeball again. "There wasn't even a psychic glow. Mewtwo sure is impressive." I said, examining the reassembled tanks. Red sighed and nodded, looking at the pokeball.

"Yes he is." Red said. "But he's also very difficult at times. Would you believe that he's actually very sarcastic?" Red asked. I laughed and nodded.

"Hey guys, I found a computer." James said, poking his head around a door. I slung the bag over one shoulder, and followed James, who led me to a computer. The screen was on and important looking diagrams were already up. I pulled a large Terabyte flash drive out of one of my pouches and plugged it in, the virus on it automatically decrypting the passcodes and downloading all the files.

"Nice work, kid." I said, scrolling through the open document. My eyes narrowed, and Red leaned next to me. "You're seeing this, right?" I asked. There were diagrams of the eggs, of Pokémon, and of a few of the legendaries.

"Holy Arceus." Red said quietly. I nodded, and there was a ding, indicating that all the files had been downloaded. "This is not good." I nodded again and stood up, retrieving my flash drive.

"We need to go. This deserves further investigation." I said.

"Uh, what exactly is going on?" James asked. I was silent for a minute before answering.

"Their research, this room, it's based around fusion. Fusion between Pokémon, combining two different Pokémon and creating a whole new one. This research was banned after Mewtwo was created." I said. "And they have their sights set on the legendary Pokémon as their research subjects." I said. "Now, James. Can Kirlia get us to the roof?" I asked. James let out Kirlia, who nodded.

"Yes. Alright, Kirlia. Teleport to the roof." James said. Kirlia nodded, and concentrated. There was a pop, and suddenly we were standing on the roof. Kirlia nearly collapsed from the effort. "Nice job, Kirlia. Get a good rest." Kirlia disappeared inside her pokeball, and I turned to Red. He nodded and let out Jake.

"Alright, James. Hop on. Let's get out of here." Red said. James complied, and I watched the three of them take off, Jake letting out a mighty roar as he did so.

"How much of that did you catch?" I asked. Darkrai materialized out of the shadows behind me, and I turned around to look at him. The nightmare Pokémon looked tired, and he simply shook his head.

"I saw all of it." Darkrai said. "I'll notify Arceus. In the meantime, you keep the eggs safe. We'll decide what to do about it in due time." He said. I nodded, adjusting the bag. Darkrai started to fly off, but stopped right in front of me. "As soon as you're done with them, get to the Pokémon center. ASAP. You might need to control Suicune too." And with that, Darkrai vanished, speeding off into the night. There was a bang, and I turned around, looking at the six guards and four scientists who had come running to the roof.

"No! Darkrai's fleeing. Dammit!" A scientist spat, and then looked up at me. "Who are you?" He asked. I remained silent.

"He looks like a burglar. Arrest him." A security guard said. Four of them advanced on me, and I smiled to myself.

"Now, don't try any-" The guard was cut off by the sound of his nose breaking, my left fist colliding with his face. The other three met the same fate, not even having time to react as I dispatched them all. d

"You've caught my attention, Silph. And I know what you've been doing in the shadows." I said. "You know who I am. You know what I am capable of. And you know that I'll be coming for you." I said, backing up towards the edge of the roof.

"Who are you?" The scientist asked. I smiled behind my mask, spread my arms, and fell off the edge of the building.


	16. Chapter 16

POV: Mars

I stared silently up at the ceiling. Where was I? My mind was foggy. What was going on? My legs wouldn't move, and I was dimly aware of two people talking. My entire body ached.

"Here's your Absol. Fork over the money, and I'll be on my way." Someone said. There was a shuffling sound, and the man grunted. "Alright. It's all here. If you ever need to get another Pokémon, you know who to call." The man said. I felt a pressure on my side, and groggily managed to raise my head. A man in a white lab coat chuckled at me, and removed his hand from my side.

"Hello Absol. You will be a nice addition. Well, maybe not once I'm done with you." He said, and looked up at someone else. "Knock him out." The man said. There was a gust of wind, and I instantly fell asleep. When I woke up, I was still groggy and unable to move, much less stand. One thought ran through my head _they must've sedated me. _

"Are you OK?" A voice asked. I looked up, barely retaining consciousness. Was that an…Eevee? "At least you're awake now. You look pretty bad, is anything broken?" My head flopped back onto the ground, and I heard a door open. "Hey! What do you think you're doing? Get back!" Eevee yelled. I looked up once more, and saw two people entering the room, one grabbing Eevee, and the other heading towards me with a sadistic smile.

"Quiet, you runt." One of the men said, calling Eevee into a pokeball and placing it on the ground. Sadist bent down over me, and revealed a knife.

"They said to get some DNA from you. They didn't say how." Sadist said. I didn't even register what that meant, I was so drugged. Sadist paused, the tip of the knife centimeters from my face. "You know, an Absol like you roughed up me and my buddy a month or so ago. We managed to escape the slammer not long ago." Sadist ran his hand along my side, and came across the scar on my leg. He chuckled. "Well, now ain't this a fun bit o' Karma. You're the same Absol." The man said, and twirled his knife. "If you would've come along nicely back then, this wouldn't have to have happened. I'm going to have fun with you."

POV CHANGE: Kirlia

"Mars was _what?_" I said. Thunder and Burn were both staring at the ground dejectedly.

"He was kidnapped by thugs. Me and Thunder were both being healed when it happened." Burn muttered.

"A large group of thugs jumped April. Mars managed to hold them off in order to let April escape. By the time she got back with the police, they were already gone." Thunder explained. He kicked at a chair dejectedly. Burn managed a small smile.

"But this is Mars we're talking about, right? I'm sure he's fine, wherever he is." Burn said. I nodded slowly, and was startled by a large slam and a cracking sound. I whirled around to see Lucien, who had slammed his fist into a wall. Cracks ran in a circle from where his fist had connected. Anger poured out of every cell of his body, radiating off of him in rolls of red emotion. I shuddered. He could be quite unpleasant, it seemed.

"Calm down, sir." Officer Jenny said, taking a tentative step towards him. She was here to help with the investigation. April didn't even look up from the patch floor she was staring at. I didn't need to be able to sense emotions to know that she was depressed.

"No." Lucien said, gritting his teeth. "I will not calm down." He gently lowered the duffle bag on his shoulder to the ground. "I just heard what happened, April. I'm sorry I wasn't there. We will find him." Lucien stormed over to the PC, turning it on. He plugged a large USB device in, and dialed some unknown number. I ignored him and turned to James, who was awkwardly trying to comfort April.

"Don't worry, we'll get him back." James said. April just nodded numbly, watching as Burn and Thunder came and sat next to her. "How long have you been up?" James asked.

"Since…" April said weakly. She cleared her throat and licked her lips. "All night. I've been up all night." She said.

"Try and rest. I'll wake you if we find anything." James said. April nodded but stayed where she was. I sighed and looked back at Lucien.

"Alright. Transferring Pokémon now. I'll look at the data, Lucien, and I'll notify you if anything pops up." The person Lucien had called said. Lucien nodded and took three pokeballs from the tray as they appeared.

"Thanks, Cindy." He said. The woman on the screen smiled happily.

"No problem. Later!" She said, and the screen went dark. Lucien put the three pokeballs on his belt and turned to us, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"I'll see you guys later. I'll come get you if I find anything. Stay here." Lucien said. April stood up quickly, knocking Thunder off of her lap.

"Ohmygod! Sorry Thunder!" April said, recalling him and Burn before glaring up at Lucien. "I'm coming with you. If we find Mars, then we'll run right in." She said. Lucien paused, and then nodded.

"Fine. James, you put the duffle bag up and stay here. Someone needs to guard the bag." Lucien said. James nodded, and grabbed the duffle back, hurrying back into the back room. I started to follow, but Jenny caught my attention.

"Where do you think you're going? And what's in the bag that's so important?" Jenny asked, attempting to stop Lucien and April. Lucien pulled out his wallet and flashed it to her, walking out the door. "Y-you're a member of the International Police Agency?" Jenny asked. Lucien nodded, halfway out the door.

"Honorary member. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do." He said. Officer Jenny watched him go in shock, and I turned around, running to James' room. He had unzipped the back, and was staring in shock at one of the eggs, which was beginning to crack and was shaking violently.

"Kirlia, it's hatching!" James said. I watched in amazement as the egg burst open, and out emerged a Pokémon I had never seen before.

POV CHANGE: Mars

I whimpered, my body racked with pain. The men had left what seemed like eons ago, and hadn't returned. I knew they would though. They hadn't injured me too badly, from what I could tell, but I was still drugged, so I couldn't really tell. See? Even my thoughts are jumbled.

"O-oh my god….what did they do to you?!" Eevee said. I managed to raise my head. Funny, my vision was lopsided. The Eevee wasn't like normal Eevee, it was a silvery color instead of Brown. I believe the humans called that being Shiny. "A-alright, put your head back down. I'll…I'll do something." Eevee said. I complied, my head flopping to the ground. Pain lanced through my body, and I yelped, the pain coming from my tail and my face. I lay perfectly still until the pain subsided.

"W-water…" I managed to get out, feeling coming back to my dry throat.

"Water? I…I don't see any water, I'm sorry." Eevee said. The door opened, and I heard footsteps.

"Well, aren't you a tricky Eevee. How do you keep getting out of your pokeball? No matter, we needed you out for this anyways. Vileplume, use stun spore." A man said. Eevee yelped, and the man chuckled. "See? All done. The shot I gave you will make your genetic structure even more unstable, giving you the chance to evolve into many more different types. Exciting, isn't it? I don't get many Eevee's, so this is an excellent chance to test out some hypothesis. Now, into the pokeball you go." There was a flash of light, and the man walked over to me. I rolled my head to the side, the tip of my horn clicking against the ground. The man was in a white lab coat, and an evil looking Vileplume was standing next to him. He chuckled and pulled something small and silver out of his lab coat.

"Rick really did a number on you, didn't he? Well, it's not like it matters. We don't need you alive anyways. Maybe I'll let him have his way with you after we're done here." The man said. He chuckled. "Now to the main event. Stay right there." The man said, revealing a saw. "This will hurt a lot."

POV CHANGE: Suicune

"Any luck?" I asked. Mew shook its head, frowning in frustration. I growled and glared at the city. Damn you, Lugia. "Keep trying." I muttered. Mew floated down to the ground and sighed.

"This is frustrating. I can't detect him. Lugia must be blocking me." Mew said. I nodded. That sounded about right. "Maybe…if I tried that…" Mew closed its eyes in concentration once more. I sighed and let Mew work. The sun was just beginning to come up, igniting the sky. I continued to glare at the city, watching the few specks of people who were moving around.

"There you are Suicune." A voice behind me said bitterly. I turned around to see Lucien, with April in tow. Soul glared at me, having been let out of his pokeball.

"Lucien." I said, and turned back around to look at the city. Mew began to mutter incoherently. "How goes the search?" I asked against hope. Maybe Lucien had managed to dig up information concerning him. It wasn't very likely, with Lugia involved. We wouldn't find Mars until Lugia had finished his little game, and that was a fact. Lucien walked in front of me and crossed his arms.

"You tell me." Lucien said. Judging from his voice, he blamed me for Mars' disappearance. I sighed.

"Nothing. There is absolutely no trace. Lugia is blocking Mew's sense, which, needless to say, poses a problem. I we can't find him in time…" I trailed off. Lucien sighed and nodded, sitting down next to me.

"C'mere, April." He said. April sat down tentatively beside him, glancing at me in awe. "Shoulda known Lugia was involved. This isn't something you would cook up. Lugia, on the other hand, would do something like this." I nodded.

"W-wait, so you're saying that Mars was kidnapped because of…because of…a legendary Pokémon?" April asked. Lucien nodded, and her eyes landed on me. I had to remind myself that she couldn't understand me. Lucien had received a psychic link with most of the legendary Pokémon, something Arceus had given to him because of his tendency to run into us. "Th-then is Suicune…?" April asked. Lucien shook his head.

"No. Suicune is looking for Mars, same as us. It is Lugia who is responsible for Mars' disappearance. And, to be blunt, we have no chance of finding Mars until Lugia has done what he wants to. He's a strong psychic, and can manipulate our senses even from the Johto region." Lucien explained bitterly. April looked down dejectedly.

"Oh dear Arceus. Don't worry, help is on the way." Mew said out loud, and terminated the psychic conversation. "Found him. He's beneath the warehouse on the opposite end of the city. Third floor down, second hall on the left, fourth door on the right. And you better hurry, it's starting." I nodded and stood up, stretching and preparing for a fight.

"What's starting?" Lucien asked, doing the same.

"Lugia believes that one of Mars' flaws might be pride. So he's going to take a source of great pride for all Absol; their horn." I explained. Lucien's expression darkened.

"Alright. April, we're going. Mew found Mars. Suicune, remind me to have a chat with Lugia." He said, and ran down the hill, April close behind. Soul nodded to me and raced after them. I nodded and ran off, taking the long way around so I didn't grab the attention of the entire city. It begins now.

**Sorry, but this is a necessary filler chapter. The exciting part is coming up next. **


	17. Chapter 17

POV: Eevee

As soon as I was sucked back into my pokeball by the scientist, I began my search. There was an escape button hidden in here somewhere. I don't know why they were put into pokeballs, but they were. The button moved every time it was pressed, so I had to research the entire ball to find it. The inside of the ball was basically an enormous patch of black nothingness, with a circle of light emanating from the center of the pokeball, a view of the outside world. That is how we knew what was going on from inside the ball. I turned to watch the scenes outside for a second. The scientist was bending over the Absol, his arm moving back and forth over Absol's head. There was a flash, and suddenly a pink Pokémon was floating in front of me. It grinned happily.

"Hello!" It said.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" I demanded, taking a defensive stance. It wasn't like I could use attacks in here, but that was beside the point. The pink Pokémon giggled, and I was taken aback by its apparent happiness.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Mew! Say, do you happen to know where a certain Absol might be?" Mew said. The name rang a few bells in my head but I ignored them.

"Well, look outside the pokeball, and you might find him. Right now that Absol is being assaulted by that scientist, and I need to go help." I snapped. Mew turned, looked outside the pokeball and sighed.

"Oh dear Arceus. Don't worry, help is on the way." Mew said, and disappeared. I looked back out of the pokeball and saw the scientist stand up, holding a bloody saw in one hand and a black object in the other. He grinned sadistically. Why was this place filled with psychotic humans?

"There. All done. Now I'll be on my way, but rest assured that we'll be back soon. We aren't done with you yet, and it is imperative that you stay alive for this next part." The scientist said, and left the room. Ten minutes passed, and I still hadn't found the bloody switch. Somewhere around seven minutes alarms had begun to blare. The door flew open, and that sadist Rick entered, holding a knife and his eyes flashing dangerously.

"How? How did he, of all people, find this place?!" Rick stammered, his eyes landing on Absol. "You! It must be your fault, Absol! He is a disaster in himself, and you herald disasters!" Rick kicked Absol, and I searched frantically for the switch. Where was it? My eyes landed on the silver switch, which was, for some reason, impossible to find in this murky blackness. I pressed it and leapt out of my ball, launching myself at Rick, who had just sunk his knife into the Absol's shoulder. I headbutted him, knocking him off his feet. Rick cursed me and whirled, facing an overcharged shadow ball. His eyes grew wide and I fired, blasting him out the door. I turned to the Absol and began to panic. The knife was still sticking out of his shoulder, and it looked like a bad wound.

"Ok…ok. I'll…uh…let's…" I trailed off, and approached the Absol. Despite the numerous beatings he'd taken, he still managed to lift his head and glare at me, defiance flashing in his one good red eye. A large gash ran down his left eye, stretching from the middle of his forehead down to the base of his jaw. I shuddered at the thought of how bad it must hurt. His eye flitted to the side and lit up in recognition.

"Oh god…" A small voice said. I turned back around, expecting a fight, but instead saw a girl about the age of 11 or 12, hands over her mouth, and staring at the Absol. "L-Lucien!" She called. Another man sprinted around the doorway, and he cursed, seeing the Absol.

"Dammit!" The man cursed. "Blissey, let's get him taken care of." He said, and released a Blissey from her pokeball. She caught sight of the Absol, and rushed forwards, pushing the girl out of the way. She forced the Absol's head down and cracked open an egg she had gotten from her pouch, pouring the contents into the Absol's mouth. Immediately, he began to relax, the tension leaving his body.

"We need to get him out of here." Blissey said, pulling bandages out of her pouch too. The man nodded, and I shook my head, getting over my initial shock.

"Alright. April, Blissey, and Soul, you three take Mars to the Pokémon center. I've got business to attend to." The man said, and turned around, cracking his knuckles and grabbing Rick, dragging him off. A Lucario appeared around the corner, nodding to me.

"Let's go." He said, and walked over to the Absol, picking him up. "Eevee, you can join us if you want. April, let Burn and Thunder out, we'll need extra protection to get out of here, especially with me carrying Mars." The Lucario said. The girl let out a Charmeleon and Elekid, and the Lucario nodded. "Alright, Blissey, with me. Burn, you take rear, Thunder, you take point. Now come on, Mars needs severe medical attention, more than just first aid." The Lucario said. The other Pokémon took their positions and ran off, the girl running alongside Lucario. I cursed and followed. I had charged myself with the Absol's protection, and by Arceus, I was going to protect him.

POV CHANGE: Lucien

I drug the man behind me, the sleeves of his shirt splattered with Mars' blood. The Eevee must've been the one to knock him out of the room, and I thanked him for that. Rage poured through my body. I was going to punish every single one of these idiots for their misdeeds. The man behind me began to rouse, and I hauled him up, slamming him against the wall. He slowly opened his eyes, and cringed in fear.

"D-don't hurt me…" The man whimpered. I brought my fist back and struck him across the jaw. My knuckles were so rough and scarred from years of abuse that no feeling reached them. He, however, felt like he had just been hit by a freight train.

"Do you know who I am?" I asked, hitting him in the stomach. After he finished groaning, he answered.

"Y-yes…" The man whimpered, looking up at me. I noted that a blue light faded from his eyes.

"Who?" I asked. He cringed in fear once more as I brought my fist back. "Who?!" I roared.

"Th-the Reaper of the Underworld, Lucien." The man whimpered. I grinned viciously at my name, pleased that he knew me, spiel and all. He had recited the name the criminals of the underworld had given me.

"Good." I said, slapping his face none too gently. "Now tell me, was what you did to that Absol back there ok? Do you think for a second that it was ok?" I asked. He shook his head vigorously, which ignited my fury. I hurled him across the hall, and kicked him in the ribs as he fell to the floor. "THEN WHY DID YOU DO IT?!" I roared. There was a stampede of feet, which all skidded to a halt upon seeing me. I whirled upon the group of Rockets who had come running. There were thirteen in all, and my rage flared once more. I cracked my knuckles, watching as the newest and stupidest stepped forwards, while those who knew who I was took several steps back. "Good of you to arrive. I'm looking for a spot 'o fun, and am hoping that you might indulge me." I snarled and launched myself forwards. Screw Pokémon battles, I'm going to break them with my own fists.

POV CHANGE: April

I raced alongside Soul, glancing nervously at Mars. Just thinking about what they'd done to him made me sick to my stomach. How could people be this cruel? His face had been cut down one eye, with another large gash running down from the side of one eyebrow to the bottom of the opposite jaw. His tail was badly cut too, having been…carved…into a design, the back resembling a serrated knife. The tip of his tail had been completely cut off, and there were now holes in his tail. All of his wounds oozed blood, and I shuddered. The worst of all was his horn. Why had they taken his horn…? I shook my head. There was no time to be thinking about this now. We just needed to get Mars to a hospital. Three rocket goons jumped out in front of us, and I yelped, skidding to a halt. Thunder was the first to act, leaping forwards and blasting them and their Pokémon with a thunder shock. Blissey took this chance to stop everyone.

"Blissey, Blissey." She said. I couldn't understand her, which frustrated me. She wrapped Mars' head and tail in bandages, and then nodded. We started running once more, this time heading up a flight of stairs. Burn roared behind me, and blasted the doorway with fire, roasting whoever was trying to enter. Soul managed a chuckle.

"Feisty one, isn't he? Every attack he fires, and he yells 'die.' Reminds me of Articuno. You'd think he'd be cool headed, but it's the opposite. He's more prone to violence than any other of the three legendary birds." Soul said.

"Can we just focus on getting out of here?" I snapped, becoming annoyed. Why did he have to start storytelling at a time like this? He should be focusing on Mars!

"Sorry. Jeez. Just trying to lift the mood…" He said glumly. There was a stampede of feet in front of us, and Soul muttered a curse, setting Mars on the ground. Blissey rushed over to him, and immediately started to work, muttering and giving him more of the egg juice that seemed to relax him. Mars groaned and looked at me with his one good eye.

"April…" He said weakly. Blissey shushed him.

"Alright, Burn, Thunder, Eevee, hold them back. I'll take out as many as I can as quickly as possible." Soul said. I realized that we were surrounded now, Rockets having come running from both directions.

"I'm…sorry…" Mars managed to get out. Tears welled in my eyes, and I placed a hand gently on his side.

"Hush." I said quietly. Why did this have to happen to him? Why did this happen to my Mars? "Just focus on getting better." I said. Mars closed his eyes, passing out as Blissey fussed over him. The Eevee that had been in the room with Mars leapt past me, running up the stairs, followed by Burn. I looked down to see that every Rocket, both human and Pokémon, had been knocked out.

"Good! Now, take care of the rest while I get Mars." Soul shouted, and landed next to Mars. I wiped tears from my eyes and sniffed, standing shakily to my feet.

"Sorry…" Mars mumbled in his sleep.

"Hush, Mars." I said weakly, daring not to touch him. Soul nodded to me, and we carefully walked up the stairs, avoiding the unconscious forms littering the stairwell. The sight of such brutality made me want to hurl, but I held it back for Mars' sake. I had to stay strong and get him to safety. Once clear, we started our run again, bursting out into the top floor of the warehouse, where over fifty Rockets awaited us. Soul sighed and set Mars on the ground, cracking his knuckles. Burn, Thunder, and the Eevee took positions in front of us, and I knelt next to Mars.

"Well, looks like I do get to fight, after all. Watch and learn, kiddos." Soul said, and launched himself at the Rockets.

POV CHANGE: Lucien

I sighed, walking down the hallway. The thirteen Rockets hadn't even given me much of a warm up, neither had the forty other Rockets that I'd taken down along the way. I my eyes flashed upwards, recognizing the sign that said research and development. Ice ringed the broken doorway, marking the presence of Suicune.

"I guess you got here first." I said, entering the room. Suicune had three scientists cornered, growling at them fiercely to keep them that way. The entire room was coated with ice and water, marking that Suicune had a bit of a temper tantrum. Not that I was one to talk, but still.

"About time you got here." Suicune said. "I've been waiting for two minutes. Come here and help me interrogate these idiots." I nodded and walked over to the three scientists, one of whom was attempting to hide a black object behind his back. I rolled up my sleeve.

"You there, what's behind your back?" I asked, pointing to the scientist. He fearfully revealed an Absol horn, and I sighed, shaking my head. "So it was you, huh?" I said casually, punching him in the face with my left hand. His nose broke under my fist, which, I had to say, felt _really _good. Sometimes hurting people is a good thing. I noticed that a dull blue light faded from his eyes. "Now that that's settled, why don't you tell me what kind of research you're doing here. And don't even try to lie, or you'll get worse than a broken nose." I said calmly. The scientists opened up, info pouring from their mouths.

"We're trying to find a way to make Mega Evolution permanent through fusing Pokémon with their Mega Stones, though that research is going extremely slow because of lack of test subjects. We're also experimenting with Pokémon fusion through both the embryonic stages and adult forms." The Rockets said. Well, it wasn't that organized, but I ignored all the stammers, uhs, and other conversational fillers. I narrowed my eyes at them. That sounded almost exactly like what I had discovered at Silph.

"Good. Now tell me where all your data is stored." I said. The scientists pointed to a terminal behind me, one that had managed to escape the worst of the ice. I pulled another terabyte flash drive out of my pocket and plugged it in, the virus inside automatically bypassing security and downloading data. I watched the data pass, and narrowed my eyes. This looked familiar…When it was done, I unplugged the flash drive and approached the scientists, holding out one hand. "The horn." I said. It was placed in my hand and I nodded appreciatively.

"Good. Now get out of here, and wait outside for me so I can properly arrest you. If you don't, I will find you. Ok?" I said. The scientists nodded vigorously and scrambled out of the room, Suicune snapping at them. "So, did you notice?" I asked. Suicune nodded.

"Yes. The blue light in the one's eyes. Lugia was influencing him." Suicune said. I sighed and nodded.

"And that means I don't get to really hurt him. And I also apologize for assuming you were behind this. But rest assured, I will have a little chat with Lugia." I said. Suicune growled.

"That makes two of us." He said, and raced out of the room. I sighed and followed, wondering if Soul had gotten Mars to the Pokémon center yet. Knowing Soul, he had probably gotten distracted somehow. I sighed and shook my head, watching yet another group of Rockets come running at me. I sighed and let Draco out of his pokeball. The green Dragonite roared, blowing all of them away with a hyper beam. He turned to me, and I pointed at the ceiling.

"Up. I want to get out of here quick, and there's only a few stories above us. Think you can manage?" I asked. Draco grinned, nodded, and fired another hyper beam, clearing a hole in the ceiling large enough for him to pass through. It all the way to the top floor. I nodded and climbed on his back. Now to get the rest of this mess cleaned up.

POV CHANGE: April

Soul sat atop a pile of KO'd Pokémon, glaring at the Rockets, who all looked at him fearfully. Burn, Thunder, and the Eevee had all taken out a few of the Rocket's Pokémon, but nothing compared to Soul. He had simply demolished them without even using an actual attack. Suddenly there was a large blast, and the floor next to us erupted in a flash of yellow power and a cloud of rubble. I protected Mars as best I could from the debris. Blissey pushed me away, and went back to tending Mars.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Lucien said. I turned around, and saw him floating in the air, riding on a green Dragonite. He grinned. "You can go now. Draco, get the Absol and April to the Pokémon center. I'm going to stay here and finish up with Soul." Lucien said, hopping off the Dragonite. He turned and faced the group of Rockets, the smile fading from his face. I recalled Burn and Thunder, and turned to the Dragonite, who was smiling at me. He picked up Mars, and indicated for me to get on his back. I did so, and he leapt into the air, going straight through a hole in the roof. I looked down one more time to see the Rockets flooding out of the building, Lucien standing silently in the center of the hole, watching them go.

**hope you enjoyed :) Sorry for the wait.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Whew! Sorry about the wait, I would've had it up sooner but my computer decided to crash and erased the file. So technically this is version 2.4 of this chapter. But here it is! Enjoy. **

POV: Mars; Dreamscape

I looked around wildly at the impressive stone structures surrounding me, wondering how I got here in the first place. Gleaming white pillars rose up to the ceiling of an impressively tall and impossibly long hallway, made of the same gleaming white stone. The ceiling itself was painted black and starry like the night sky, showing the entire universe in all its glory. Legendary Pokémon milled about almost listlessly, chatting to each other. The Eon duo spoke with the three legendary birds, while Dialga and Palkia got into a heated conversation with Lugia and Ho-oh.

"Ah, I see you made it. Good. I was the one who called you here, so I'd expect nothing less." I whirled to look at the speaker, surprised to find that it was nothing but a small glowing light, about the size of me. I must've looked as shocked as I felt, because the light made a noise that sounded like laughter. "What, does this form shock you? Then how's this?" The light shifted, changing into a humanoid form. Except it wasn't exactly human. It's hands were that of a Blaziken, talons, fire wrists, and all; and it had fire for hair. Its eyes were a shocking purple color, and it grinned wickedly, revealing sharp teeth. "Still too much? Fine. How's this?" It asked, turning into a normal Blaziken. "Better?" It asked.

"Better." I said after a second to get over my shock. "Where are we?" I asked.

"The Hall of Origin. Where else? Oh! The meeting's starting. Come on, I don't want to miss anything important." The Blaziken said. I followed, watching in awe as Giratina appeared from a wall and soared down the hall, disappearing through a set of doors. "At this rate, we'll never get there in time. Hang on a second." Blaziken said in exasperation. He snapped his fingers, and we suddenly appeared in a new room. It was a large domed structure, made out of the same material as before, with a large amount of seats situated in a circle around the room. The dome itself was painted with the story of creation. Legendary Pokémon ringed the room, filling it almost to the brim.

"Don't worry, they can't see you." Blaziken said, watching me. "In fact, you're not even here. Only I can see you. Well, excluding Arceus of course." Blaziken said. I glared at him, taking a tentative step back.

"Who are you? What exactly is going on?" I snapped. Blaziken chuckled.

"You may call me Nameless. That is who I am. As for what's going on…you'll see soon enough." Nameless said. I glared at him, and then turned my attention to the scene before me. Every single legendary Pokémon was in attendance, from Rayquaza to Zapdos to even Celebi and Victini. There was only one seat empty, which stood at the very front of the stadium, flanked by Dialga and Palkia. There was a flash of light, and it was suddenly occupied by the giant white form of Arceus. Arceus scanned the crowd, his eyes landing on us for a split second before moving on.

"Good, now that we are all in attendance, we can begin. Suicune, Entei, and Darkrai. You are the last to choose your champions, am I correct?" Arceus inquired.

"Yes. Though I have chosen mine." Entei said, bowing his head.

"Hmph. I've found a worth candidate." Darkrai said grumpily.

"As have I." Suicune said. "Though Lugia may have gone too far in testing him." He said, shooting the giant bird Pokémon a death glare.

"I am not through testing him. He still has yet to live up to my expectations." Lugia said with a shrug. Arceus glared at him.

"Lugia, we cannot have any more delays. I am giving you three weeks to approve of Suicune's selection. That goes for you too, Ho-oh, Dialga. You two also have three weeks, if you have not completed it already.

"It shall be done with the utmost honor, milord." Ho-oh said, bowing as gracefully as he could. A rainbow shot from his feathers, causing him to sparkle and shine. I snorted.

"Suck up." I muttered. Nameless laughed, causing the room to shake, and Arceus shot him a glance.

"Good. Now, as you are aware, Lucien contacted me recently. It appears that the predictions are true. The Change is coming upon us here and now, in this time of chaos. Be prepared for the inevitable. We shall meet again in three weeks, in order to approve the selections of Suicune, Entei, and Darkrai as a whole. Dismissed." Arceus said. The legendary Pokémon scattered like the wind, and Arceus turned his eyes towards us.

"Hello, old friend. Long time no see. What's it been, three hundred years? Four?" Nameless asked, walking to meet Arceus. Nameless grew to the size of Arceus, taking on the humanoid body from before.

"Nameless. Glad to see you again. And it's only been four decades, brother." Arceus said. "May I ask who that is?" He said, indicating me. I started to take a step backwards but thought better of it. Showing weakness to the creator of all things was not high on my to-do list. To be honest, meeting the creator of all things wasn't even on my to-do list.

"My name is Mars." I said as calmly as I could, bowing my head slightly. "Nice to meet you." _You could be a bit more formal. _I chided myself. Arceus laughed.

"Don't worry about it. Formality grates on the nerves after a few millennia. Now, Nameless, mind telling me what he's doing here?" Arceus asked. Nameless shrugged.

"Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff. The timeline dictated it, so here he is. I believe this is Suicune's selection." Nameless said. Arceus grunted and bent down so he was eye level with me. I found myself staring into his green and red eye, which happened to be about the size of me. He chuckled.

"Hmmm. I approve. Suicune has always had the habit of finding the best candidates for the job. Remember that he found Lucien?" Arceus asked.

"Yep. Lucien is one resilient human, I'll give him that. Though I've never met him directly." Nameless said. "I happen to agree with Suicune, Lugia went a bit too far with the testing." Nameless said. Arceus grunted in agreement.

"Yes, I do agree. Though I will let him play his game. It is understandable that he would be nervous, and if it eases him, then so be it." Arceus said. At this point, I had had enough.

"Alright, look. What is going on, what did Lugia go overboard on, who am I to you and Suicune, and who, exactly, is Nameless?" I asked. Arceus blinked at me in surprise, and then laughed, standing up.

"Bold one, aren't you? Most have trouble forming syllables, much less speaking coherent sentences when they first meet me. I will explain. You are Suicune's champion. Nameless is my little brother, having appeared a mere century after me. He is Nameless and faceless because he chooses to be. As for what is going on…I cannot indulge this information to you at this moment, other than change is coming. And as for Lugia….well, you'll just have to wake up to find out." Arceus said. Nameless nodded.

"Yes. It is time you returned. The timeline says you stay no longer. Though I will try and…compensate you for your loss. Here, allow me to…" Nameless snapped his fingers, and something struck me, knocking the wind out of me. "There! All done! Let's see how long it takes for you to awaken it. Now, get going." Nameless said, and snapped his fingers, causing the world to disappear into blackness.

I slowly opened my eyes, feeling that my perception was slightly off. I ignored it though, and thought to the strange dream I had. The scary part was that it made a little bit of logical sense, but I dismissed it as a dream nonetheless. Why would Arceus talk to me? And where had I come up with the idea of Nameless? I must have a more vivid imagination than I thought. I shook my head as best I could while lying on my side. My attention turned to my surroundings. The room I was in was porcelain white and smelled of chemicals, with nothing but a heart monitor, IV drip, and my bed in the tiny room.

"Alright, up we go." I said, slowly standing up. I winced and looked at my right shoulder, finding that it was wrapped with bandages. "What the hell is that?" I asked, glaring at it. Slowly, a few memories began to filter back to me. I remembered…a knife…pain…and April coming to get me. I shook my head, noticing that something about it felt off.

"M-Mars!" April yelled, opening the door to the room. I looked at her and smiled, noticing a tightness in my face. _My vision seems really off. _I thought.

"Yo." I said, furrowing my brows. _As a matter of fact, I think my head is wrapped in bandages. And my head feels too light…_My thoughts trailed off, and I looked up at April. "Is my horn…?" I said quietly, remembering the saw. April looked down and nodded, beginning to tear up.

"Y-yes…I'm sorry Mars." She said. "If…if I hadn't…" April began, and ran up to me, hugging me. "I'm so sorry." She said. I was dumbstruck. My horn… "If I hadn't left you to fight those thugs, then maybe this wouldn't have happened." That comment struck me like a slap in the face. I had told her to run, dammit, so she shouldn't be blaming herself.

"Stop." I said, a bit too forcefully. April let go and looked me in the face. "I told you to run. Don't blame yourself, I should've been paying more attention. Now cheer up. If I don't blame you, then neither should you." My voice sounded bitter and angry, two emotions I couldn't keep at bay. I had lost my horn; an Absol's source of pride and power.

"S-sorry…" She said timidly, wiping tears from her eyes. "I-I just…" She trailed off, and I sighed, attempting to press my bitterness down. It didn't work, and all I could end up doing was make myself seem less angry.

"It's fine. Just…" I sighed. "What happened? I don't remember much at all after getting swarmed by the thugs." April nodded and recounted the story. It was during this that I realized why my vision was off. I had lost an eye. After she was done, I sighed. "I see. How long have I been out?" I asked, jumping off the bed with a wince. My shoulder still hurt from where the guy had stabbed it.

"One week. Nurse Joy says you should relax for another week just in case, though." April said. I nodded, walking a lap around the room. There was a hitch in my front right leg now. "I…I'm sorry, Mars…I'm such a bad trainer…." April said, and began to cry again. I sighed, forcing myself to remain calm.

"I said to stop that. It's not your fault, so stop blaming yourself." I said, my voice much calmer now. April nodded and wiped her eyes, smiling weakly at me.

"Thank you, Mars." April said. I nodded and leapt back up onto the bed, beginning to feel tired.

"It's fine." I muttered, feeling my eyes begin to droop. I yawned. "Why am I so tired? I think I'm going to…take….a….nap." I said, falling asleep almost as soon as I finished my sentence.

POV CHANGE: April

I slowly closed Mars' door behind me, wiping tears from my eyes once more. _Thank you. _I silently told Mars, and walked down the hall to the reception area of the Pokémon center. Red was nowhere to be seen, and Lucien was deathly silent, watching everything that went on with a critical eye. I couldn't read him, and hadn't been able to ever since he had gotten back to the Pokémon center.

"Hey! No, get back here!" James yelled, chasing around his newest Pokémon. I sat down next to Lucien, watching their antics. The Pokémon was unlike anything I had ever seen; not even the Pokedex could identify it. James claimed it had hatched from an egg while we were saving Mars, and Lucien had taken this very seriously. It reminded me of an Eevee, but was distinctly different. It had a long tail, nearly three times as long as a normal Eevee's, and had the same bushy fur coat around its neck. It was colored a light bluish/silver color, and had four ears. Two ears were similar to Eevee's, and the other two, sitting right in front of the first two, were small triangles. Its front paws had opposable thumbs, and it alternated between walking on all fours and walking on two feet. It was about the same size as Eevee, and could fly. Currently, it was zooming around the Pokémon center, terrorizing the few trainers in here.

"Watch it!" I said, covering my head as it flew past. It just giggled and kept flying.

"Sorry! Just…just return already!" James said, uselessly trying to recall the Pokémon. It dodged all the red beams expertly and kept flying. James sighed and sat down in a chair, watching as the Pokémon flew around the room, eventually coming to rest on top of James' head.

"I think I figured out what your Pokémon is." Lucien muttered, staring at James. "It's a combination of Eevee and Mew." He said. James looked at him blankly.

"I'm still confused by this whole 'Pokémon fusion' thing. Mind explaining?" James asked.

"Yeah. It's a mix of Mew and Eevee. The scientists must've taken advantage of Eevee's unstable genetic structure and the fact that Mew is the ancestor of nearly all Pokémon, and somehow managed to combine the two, creating a hybrid." Lucien said. "If I had to guess, I'd say it's a psychic/normal type."

"Uh…ok. I didn't really understand any of that, but ok." James said. The Pokémon giggled on top of his head, and Lucien clasped his hands in front of his mouth, staring at it intently. I could practically see the gears working in his head.

"Mars woke up." I said, startling him. James grinned, and Lucien nodded.

"Awesome! How is he?" James said, batting the Pokémon's tail out of his face. _He should name it. That'd be better than calling it 'the Pokémon.' _I thought.

"That's good." Lucien said.

"He's fine, I think. Just tired and…upset." I said. Lucien shrugged and stood up.

"Well, that's to be expected. I wouldn't worry too much about him, though. I can't say I know Mars as well as you two, but I do know that he's tougher than nails. If I'm anything, it's a good judge of character." Lucien said, grabbing a duffle bag that had been sitting next to him. "I'm going to be leaving now that Mars is awake. I've got some business to attend to. But before I leave, I want you to have this, April." Lucien said, pulling an egg out of the duffle bag. It was a bright blue color, with white rings around it, making it look almost like waves.

"What's this?" I asked. Lucien shrugged.

"An egg like the one that held James' Mew/Eevee thing. You should come up with a name for it, James. It'll get confusing otherwise. Anyways, I was told to give it to you, so I gave it to you." Lucien said.

"Told by who?" I asked. Lucien scratched his chin in thought.

"Who was it now? Latios? Latias? Or was it Celebi? I don't remember. But anyways, a legendary Pokémon told me to give it to you, so there. Now I really have to go so I expect to see both of you in Vermillion city about two weeks from now. But don't skip the Celadon gym! When Mars is ready, I'd head to Celadon and then back down to Vermillion. Got it? Good. Bye." Lucien said, and left before I could say another word. I looked down at the egg sadly.

"Well that was weird. And…confusing. Is he nuts? Does he really think that a legendary Pokémon contacted him?" James said. I was silent, remembering how he met with Suicune. I doubted his explanation, but still…

"I don't know…" I muttered. "I…I don't think I want to continue…especially after…" I trailed off, muttering to myself sadly. I couldn't force Mars to keep going on an adventure with me.

"If you don't continue on your adventure, I'm going to get upset with you." Mars said, startling me. I yelped and turned around, finding that he had taken off the bandages, revealing his scars and milky white eye. "It's like a rite of passage for you humans, right? Then you have to go. Seriously, don't let me be a buzz kill." Mars said. I stared at him for a second, and then nodded, smiling.

"Hey! Mars is up! Awesome!" James said. The Pokémon leapt off his head with excitement and went zooming around the room. James groaned and got up, chasing after it. "Get back here!" He called.

"Ok." I said quietly.

"Hey! What's he doing out of bed? You need rest!" Nurse Joy said, rushing over to Mars. He didn't object as he was led back to his room, and I clutched the egg to my chest, smiling.

"Thank you, Mars." I said. "Thank you for everything."

**So, I'm opening a poll for the Pokémon in April's egg. I could use some serious advice on it, so please help. It won't hatch for a chapter or three, I haven't decided exactly when yet, but it helps to know in advance what's going to happen so I can try and lead up to it. So please vote. Thanks!**

**P.S. The first two people to tell me what show I (not so subtly) referenced in this chapter get to submit an OC. Here's the form. **

**Gender:**

**Age:**

**Physical Description:**

**Personality:**

**Pokémon** **Team:**

**Hometown:**

**Back-story:**

**Other Descriptive Stuff You Think You Need:**


	19. Chapter 19

**Whew! It's finally out! Sorry for the delay, but what can I say? Finals. Anyways, the poll's closed now, and so is the chance for an OC. The two have already been submitted. So, enjoy the chapter. **

4 days later

POV: Suicune

"Hello, Mars." I said calmly. The Absol appeared in front of me, emerging through the trees. His scarred visage glared at me, his one good eye gleaming dangerously in the night. The other eye was closed, connecting the scar on both eyelids. He walked with a slight hitch in his front right shoulder, thanks to that blade. He studied me for a moment before opening his other eye. It was milky white.

"You look tired." He said. This surprised me. No anger? No yelling? Nothing at all? Not even a hint? I managed a small laugh.

"Yes, well, the last few decades have been tiring, this last year increasingly so." I said. He continued to stare at me.

"Why am I here, Suicune? What did you call me for?" He asked.

"Straight to the point, eh?" I asked, grinning at him. "Alright, I'll tell you…" I walked up to him, staring straight into his eyes. Behind a mask of anger, I saw the same Mars as before. Loyal to a fault, courageous, and dangerous. I bowed. "I apologize. If I had been faster in warning you, if I had been faster getting here, maybe this wouldn't have happened. This is my fault." I said. Mars said nothing for a while, staring at the back of my bowed head.

"Raise your head, idiot. I'm not mad at you, and I don't blame you. I should've been more cautious. And besides, if what you said before is true, then it's not you I have a bone to pick with." He let that last comment hang in the air, and I raised my head. His eye gleamed dangerously, and I nodded.

"Unfortunately, you will undoubtedly get that chance. Lugia will want to meet you. That is how he plays his games." I said. Mars nodded.

"I'm pretty sure I understand that. After all, I-" He caught himself, and looked at me. "Do you happen to know anyone by the name of Nameless?" He asked.

"No." I said, shaking my head. Nameless…I'm sure I've heard that before. "I do not. Why do you ask?" He shook his head.

"Never mind. Well, if that's all, then I'm going to go back to camp. Don't want April waking up and wonder where I am." He said, turning away. I couldn't help but chuckle, seeing his tail. The thing really looked menacing. "What?" He asked. I shook my head, smiling.

"I just have to say, those scars really do make you mean looking." I said with a smile. He glared at me for a second, and then broke out in a grin.

"You think so?" He asked. I chuckled again at his vicious-looking grin.

"Absolutely. You're heading to Celadon City now, right?" I asked. He nodded, and I grinned. "Have fun with the contests. I'm sure April will want to enter in them." I said. He looked at me, genuinely confused.

"What is that?" He asked. I chuckled and shook my head.

"You'll find out in Celadon. Until then, don't worry about it. Now get going. The sun will be up in an hour." I said. Mars shrugged and walked back through the trees, disappearing into the darkness. My smile faded, and Mew appeared next to me. "You caught that?" I asked. Mew nodded bouncing up and down mid-air. How that was possible, I do not know, but somehow Mew managed it. Mew giggled and turned upside down.

"He looks grumpy all the time now." Mew said. I nodded, and Mew sighed. "I've heard of Nameless, but I've never seen or met whatever it is. It's just a stupid rumor that the other legendaries concocted. We'd know if there was someone who was more powerful than Arceus, right? So I don't believe in him." Mew said. I grunted and nodded.

"I agree. But still…why did Mars bring him up?" I asked. Mew shrugged.

"Legendaries are interested in him, and they tend to gossip. Maybe Latios told him? Either way, let's go. I have someone I want you to meet." Mew said. I nodded and turned around. That wasn't a very convincing argument, but I didn't feel the need to dwell on it. I nodded to Mew.

"Alright, let's go." I said, and followed as he flew off into the night, making sure he was close enough to the ground to let me follow. _Please don't change for the worse, Mars. We don't have time for me to make a new decision. _I silently prayed. The deadline was approaching. Two months was all we had left.

POV CHANGE: Mars

I walked back into camp and lay down next to April, who was curled in a ball around the egg. Burn and Thunder were laying next to her, out of their pokeballs and curled into balls. For some reason I could tell, without even looking, that Thunder was merely feigning sleep while Burn was out like a light.

"I know you're awake, Thunder." I said, laying down. Thunder twitched, and then opened his eyes, watching me carefully.

"Where'd you go?" He asked. I shrugged.

"I thought I heard something in the forest, and went to go investigate. Nothing to worry about." I said nonchalantly. I yawned and closed my eyes.

"Are you sure that-" Thunder caught himself midsentence, and I opened my good eye.

"Smart. Don't treat me like I'm weak just cuz I lost my horn. Now go to sleep." I said. Thunder just sighed and lay back down, but didn't fall asleep. Neither did I though, as I found myself laying wide awake until April got up, an hour after the sun rose. She stretch and stood up, staring at the smoking pit that was once our fire. She yawned again and stood up, throwing a rock at James, who was sleeping peacefully across the fire. It hit his sleeping back, and caused him to groan and roll over.

"Wake up, James." April said, rolling up her sleeping bag. "I want to eat breakfast in Celadon. I hear there's this amazing café there that sells all kinds of pastries and stuff." She said. The mention of food caused James to sit up, rubbing his eyes.

"What?" He mumbled. April started kicking dirt on the fire.

"Let's get going." She said. James nodded, yawned, and then stood up, stretching.

"Ok." He mumbled, and went about picking his stuff up.

"You ready, Mars?" April asked, recalling Thunder and Burn. I nodded and stood up, feeling my shoulder stretch.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I said, cracking my neck. April nodded, and we watched James finish packing up his stuff. We started walking, and within two hours were standing at the outskirts of the city. A large billboard stood next to a gas station, colored red and yellow. A picture of some woman and a Pikachu stood on either side, both grinning. The billboard said **Biannual Celadon Pokémon Contests. Don't miss it! Starts July 5****th****. **

"Oh my gosh! July 5th! That's tomorrow!" April said excitedly.

"Contest?" James asked. "I didn't know that Celadon had contests." James said.

"How could you not? Celadon has amazing contests! They gym leader here always participates, and trainers come from all around to enter." April explained. James just shrugged.

"That's nice. I don't really care. I'm going to get breakfast and then go challenge the gym leader." James said. April nodded.

"Yeah, ok. I've got to get Mars to the Pokémon center for a checkup. Nurse Joy told me to get him checked when we got here." April said. James nodded.

"It's probably a good idea to give the team some rest, so I'll come too." James said.

"I don't really see the point. I feel fine." I grumbled. April shot me a glance that said 'You will do it, and I will make you do it.' I sighed and shook my head, but followed anyways. We got breakfast at a café first, which was mediocre, and then went to the Pokémon center. It was packed with people and Pokémon, I assumed in preparation for the contest tomorrow. I still wasn't sure what a contest was, and decided that I would ask April after we got out of here.

"Hello! You must be April and Mars! My sister Joy told me you'd be coming." Nurse Joy said. "Now if you could have Mars just jump right up here, then I'll get him checked out." She said, patting the counter. April looked down at me and I nodded, letting out a sigh. This was going to hurt. I leapt up onto the counter with a wince, barely making it. Joy nodded. "That's great! Now, hold still. This is going to feel kind of weird." She said. There was pressure on my shoulder, and what felt like something slipping underneath my skin. "Oh, good. The muscle's all healed now. So I guess I can take out the stitches." Joy said, and turned to April. "So I'm going to take him into the back room and take those out. It might take a bit, because, as you can see, we're pretty busy with the upcoming contest. Come back in an hour or so and we'll be done." April looked at me and nodded.

"Ok. Be good Mars. Don't get into any fights." She said. I rolled my eyes and hopped off the counter, following Joy into the back, where multiple other Pokémon were waiting for treatment. A poisoned Raticate lay on a gurney, waiting for treatment, while others were simply waiting to be checked up on. Joy led me to a bed.

"Ok, jump up here, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can." Joy said. I did as instructed, and lay on the bed, resting my head on my paws. At least I got those infernal stitches out today.

"Yo. How's it going?" A deep voice said next to me. I opened my eye and looked at the speaker, who was looking at me expectantly. It was a Blaziken, nothing too special about it, and male, based on the voice.

"Not bad. You?" I said, lifting my head up. The Blaziken shrugged.

"Same. Could be better. After all, I'm stuck in this place. Never really did like Pokémon centers." He said. I nodded in agreement. Sure, they were useful, but that still didn't make it fun coming here. "My trainer left me here for a full check-up in preparation for the contest tomorrow. It's a pain, but what can I do, eh? So why are you here?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Getting stitches out." I said. "You know, I've been meaning to ask someone about the contests. My trainer seems to be interested in it, and I was just wondering what they were, exactly." The Blaziken laughed.

"You don't know what contests are? Where have you been the past decade? They've really become popular." Blaziken said with a laugh. I shrugged.

"The mountains, mostly. I got caught not too long ago, actually. It's been maybe two months? Enlighten me." I said, slightly annoyed. Blaziken shrugged.

"Sure. Pokémon and trainers compete in a contest to create different forms of art using their moves and skills. There are different contests you can enter in, such as cool, beauty, smart, or tough. The style that you use usually reflects what contest you're in. And that's about it. You do a little battling too, but that's not quite as prominent as the displays. Do you understand?" Blaziken asked.

"Not really, but whatever. I'll figure it out if April, my trainer, enters." I said with a yawn.

"Mars, are you ready to get your stitches out?" Joy said, walking up to me. I nodded, and she went to work pulling out the stitches when she was done, I stood up and stretched. "Good, everything seems to be in order, so you're free to go. April's waiting for you out front." Joy said. I nodded to her and then to Blaziken.

"See you." I said, and walked out of the Pokémon center. April was waiting for me outside, just as Nurse Joy said.

"Hey Mars! I've got a surprise for you!" She said excitedly. "I'm going to enter you into a contest!" She said, and I sighed.

"Should've guessed. Alright, fine. As long as I don't have to do anything stupid." I said. April grinned.

"Don't worry, it'll be a ton of fun. Now come on, I want to work with you on how we're going to go about our routine." She said, and led me off towards the center of town, where a small park and battle arena was. _It'll be good for you, get you a little loosened up. _I told myself. _Let's just hope that I don't have to do anything stupid. _

**Sorry if the quality of was poor or anything, this was a chapter to try and get me back in the groove of writing. Sooo…yeah. Hope you enjoyed it anyways. **


	20. Chapter 20

POV: Mars

_HI! _A voice rang out in my head. My eyes flew open and I looked wildly around the room. What was that?! _That's me! I'm right here, in the egg. I think. _The voice said. I looked around until I spotted the egg, and I walked over to it. _So that's what I look like. Huh. _It said.

"Ok. That settles it. I've lost it." I said, shaking my head. _Lost what? I'm confused. What did you lose? _"Obviously my mind. There's a voice in my head and there's no way that an egg could be speaking to me inside my own head." I said. Silence. _Uhh...no. Sorry. You haven't lost your mind. I'm a psychic type...I think. I'm not really sure. I've been reading the minds of everyone here, trying to figure it all out, but I'm still not sure._ It said. I sniffed the egg, and it wiggled. _Dude, seriously? Back off. You're crowding me. _It said. I snorted. "You're inside an egg. I don't see how I'd be the one crowding you." _...Touché. Oh, look. April's up. Talk to you later, Mars! _

"Mars? What are you doing up?" April asked, sitting up. I looked over at her and shrugged.

"Just having a conversation with the egg. I think I might be going nuts." I said calmly. April just nodded, not really hearing what I said, and yawned, grabbing the clock next to her.

"Oh. It's 6 o'clock. Should we go ahead and get ready for the contest?" She asked. I shrugged and glanced at the egg again. It wiggled, and I sighed.

"Sure. I don't see why not. It's not like I'm going to be going back to sleep any time soon." I muttered. She nodded and yawned, scratching the back of her head.

"Alright then. I'll get ready." She said, and got up. It took us an hour to get ready. She had to take a shower and do human things, while I pretended like Thunder and Burn weren't there as they wrestled on the floor. Eventually we got breakfast and left for the contest tent, where there was already a bustle of activity. "Where do you think we sign up?" April asked. I shrugged.

"I'm following you." I said. She sighed, nodded, and turned to the nearest person.

"Excuse me, how do we sign up for the contests?" April asked. The person smiled sweetly, her brown eyes twinkling.

"Oh, it's right over there. Here, let me show you." She said, heading towards the contest tent. We were led up to a reception counter, where the receptionist was writing down the names of a few more trainers.

"Hello, Luna. What can I do for you?" The receptionist asked. Luna smiled and gestured to April.

"She would like to enter a contest. Would you mind helping her?" She asked. The receptionist smiled and nodded, turning to April.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" She asked.

"April."

"What contest would you like to enter?" She asked. April glanced at me thoughtfully, and then turned back towards the receptionist.

"I'd like to enter the cool contest." April said. The receptionist nodded.

"Alright, sweetie. You'll be contestant number 25, OK? The contests don't start for another few hours, so go get some rest. You look tired." The receptionist said. April nodded.

"Ok. Thank you." April said, and walked towards the training area. She turned to me and smiled when we got there. "Alright, Mars. You ready for some last minute training?" She asked. I rolled my shoulders and nodded.

"Yep. Ready as I'll ever be." I said.

"Then let's get started."

POV CHANGE: Lucien

I narrowed my eyes, glaring at the gathering of legendary Pokémon. We were in a dense forest in the Sinnoh region, near the base of Mount Coronet, the rumored home of Arceus and the Hall of Origin. Arceus stood at the front of the four all-powerful legendaries; Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina. Mew drifted calmly through the air above them, while Darkrai sat in the shadows next to Suicune. Arceus shifted nervously, avoiding my glare. Red stood next to me, and he crossed his arms, trying not to cry out in pain as Mewtwo yelled inside of his head.

"So, you're telling me you _knew _about this?!" I asked, my voice icy cold. In front of me sat the final Pokémon fusion egg, the one I had brought to show to the legendaries. Arceus cleared his throat and nodded.

"Yes. We did." He said. I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth. The legendary Pokémon knew about this, and yet they did nothing?!

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Mewtwo yelled, emerging from his pokeball. Red took a step back, relief crossing his face as Mewtwo finally left his head. "YOU'RE TELLING ME, THAT YOU...YOU...I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL!" He shouted. The entire forest began to glow in a purple light, and the ground began to shake.

"Quiet, Mewtwo." Mew said calmly. "Hear us out." I blinked in surprise. Mew was actually OK with this? The forest returned to its normal color, and Mewtwo glared at Mew, nodding slowly.

"Fine. But if I am not satisfied with your answer..." Mewtwo trailed off, leaving the threat hanging in the air. He was one of the most powerful legendaries, despite being an artificial legendary. In his mega-evolved state, his power rivaled even that of Arceus.

"We know. You will declare war on us, and you will have every right to." Arceus said, and sighed. "It appears that I cannot hide it any longer. What I am about to tell you must not leave us. It concerns the future of the world, and my younger brother." He said. I took a step back in surprise.

"Younger brother? You?" I asked. Arceus nodded, and glanced at Palkia and Dialga, who both looked just as surprised.

"Yes, but what does that have to do with the fusion Pokémon? With the Pokémon experiments?!" Mewtwo snarled.

"Patience. That will come in due time. My younger brother emerged from the shards of my egg a mere century after I did, an invisible being to all but those he chooses to show himself to. He took on the title of Nameless, and is responsible for all the balance, and ironically, all the change in the world. He creates and destroys, and decides the timeline in a way that even I could not. From the very beginning, he has seen the events that are transpiring now as inevitable, a fixed point in the future that cannot change, ever since I created both Pokémon and man." Arceus sighed and shook his head. "It only became truly fixed when I created the beings of emotion to calm Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina, unintentionally giving emotion, knowledge, and will to the humans. Though that is a mistake I do not regret, for many wonderful things have come from the humans, and many lessons have been taught to me from them." Arceus was silent after this.

"Well?" Mewtwo snapped.

"I cannot pretend to see the events that are transpiring as ill. Change is change. I have witnessed the evolution of Pokémon from the very beginning, from the beings you know as fossils, to what they have become now. However, I do see the methods of change as ill. This fusion of Pokémon is an abomination, an atrocious act to the Pokémon being created, and the Pokémon stolen from. However, this just the beginning, and though I have done everything in my power to stop it, I cannot change what is fixed." Arceus said.

"What do you mean everything in your power?! You've been doing nothing!" Mewtwo snapped. Arceus narrowed his eyes.

"Do not presume too much. This should have begun two hundred years ago, but because I created the other legendaries, it was delayed. It should have started with you, but I managed to delay it another eight years. That is all the time I have managed to give you. Even now, we are trying to delay it. Possibly by another century." Arceus snapped. I raised an eyebrow, and Suicune stepped forwards.

"May I?" He inquired. Arceus nodded, and Suicune started walking towards us. "Everything Arceus just told you, minus the bit about Nameless, every legendary is aware of. You should know, though, that not all legendaries were created equal. There are those who have immense power while others are less powerful. The ones created by Arceus as original creations are more powerful than the ones raised to the level of legendary from a normal Pokémon, such as myself. But this is well known, it is a common fact. And, as you know, many legendaries have been searching out 'champions.'" Suicune began to circle us, and stopped to my left, staring off into the distance.

"A few legendaries deliberately chose to have their champions be the fusion of their DNA and another Pokémon 's DNA. Mew, as you figured out, chose the champion that is now at James' side. Shaymin chose the Pokémon residing in the egg you have there. Others, like myself, chose already existing Pokémon. I chose Mars. Darkrai chose James' Kirlia." Suicune said.

"You deliberately gave them your DNA?!" Mewtwo thundered, glaring at Mew. Mew just smiled sadly.

"Allow me to continue. What you do not know, is that we have not been searching out 'champions' in the sense that you believe it to be in." He said.

"You don't mean..." Red said, coming to the same conclusion that I did.

"Yes. As Arceus said, he delayed the inevitable by two centuries by creating the legendaries. That was 3000 years ago. It is only through great change that this can be delayed, as the world needs time to adjust. We are willing to give up something most precious in order to preserve the peace. As I said earlier, not all legendaries were created equal. This applies to more than just power. This also applies to the concept of _immortality. _We have not been searching out champions. Over 90% of the legendary Pokémon have been searching out successors."

POV CHANGE: April

I grinned as Mars slowly made his way out onto the stage, and the judges cast a critical eye over him.

"And this is our final contestant for the cool contest, April and her Absol Mars!" The announcer said.

"Let's just hope the poor guy doesn't hurt himself." One of the judges said with a chuckle. One glare from Mars was all it took to shut him up. He cleared his throat. "Continue."

"Alright, Mars. Use ice beam!" I shouted. He turned his head skyward and fired an ice beam, the white beams slamming into the ceiling as he created a massive icicle. "Now use razor wind!" I shouted, praying that the attack worked. Ever since he had lost his horn the attack only worked about half the time, the other half it exploded in his face. We had to ditch night slash entirely, instead trading it for iron tail. We also had to ditch quick attack because of his injured leg, trading that for shadow claw. Both new attacks were thanks to the TMs Sabrina gave me. Luckily, the attack worked this time, and cut down the massive icicle. "Iron tail!" I called.

"I know!" Mars called back, and launched himself in the air, spinning in a circle and smashing his glowing silver tail into the icicle, sending it spinning upwards. Mars landed on the ground with a wince and looked up.

"Razor wind!" I shouted. Mars yanked his head forwards, only to have the attack backfire, exploding in his face. The icicle was also caught in the blast, blowing into pieces instead of cutting in two like I had planned. I sighed. There goes the contest.

"Oh no! Did the attack backfire?" The announcer said. Mars was hidden in a cloud of dust, and I hung my head.

"Shut up!" Mars shouted, and began firing ice beams. I blinked in surprise. What was he doing? "Dear Arceus, that hurt!" He roared, and the ice beams began to pick up, illuminating him for a few instants in the cloud of dust.

"Mars..." I said, and then noticed that he wasn't firing randomly. He was hitting the falling pieces of ice. Multiple tendrils of ice ran out from the cloud, stopping mid air when the connected with the icicle shards. Then, the ice beams stopped, and Mars emerged from the settling cloud of dust. He turned around and fired a perfect razor wind, clearing the dust without damaging the amazing structure that he had built. The ice sculpture reached out in all directions like a frozen water fountain, meeting at the center about a foot off of the ground. A single line of ice was the only thing holding it up, causing the entire structure to tremble and shake.

"Hmph." Mars said, and tapped his tail on one of the low-reaching tendrils as he walked past, causing the sculpture to erupt into a glittering explosion of ice. "How's that for cool?" He snapped at the judges, and kept walked. I hugged him when he got to me.

"That was amazing!" I said, giggling.

"Of course it was. I was in it, wasn't I?" He asked calmly.

"Amazing! What a dazzling display!" The announcer called. I grinned at Mars.

"Only you could've pulled that off." I said happily. Mars grinned.

"Now, after that astounding display, let's get on with the beginning of the much anticipated Beauty contest!" The announcer shouted. I led Mars off of the stage, grinning at him. When we got backstage, we were stopped by the person who helped us earlier.

"That was great, kid!" She said. I racked my brains for her name. I think the receptionist said her name was Luna?

"Th-thanks." I stammered. "It was my first contest..."

"What? No way! You're a natural!" She said, clapping her hands together. "I'm sure you'll do great in the upcoming rounds!" She said. I grinned, and we were ushered out of the area by a nervous security guard.

"Hey! No need to push!" I said indignantly. Mars growled and the guy pushed us out of the backstage area. He slammed the door in my face, and I frowned. "Jerk. Come on, Mars. Let's go watch the other contestants." We managed to push our way through the crowds of people, and found the section of stands reserved for contestants. The only seat open was reserved for me, and I sat down, Mars sitting in the aisle next to me.

"And now, we've got a special surprise for you! Entering in this year's biannual beauty contest is the world famous Hoenn coordinator...LUNAAAAA!" The announcer screeched. The crowd went nuts, and out walked the lady who had helped us.

"Hello! So glad to be here!" She said happily. "Now, without further ado, Shade, you're up!" Luna tossed out a pokeball and out popped a Lucario, crouched and ready for action. "Use aura sphere!" Shade leapt into the air, spinning and firing off random aura spheres. My eyes widened in amazement as I realized that they weren't going anywhere.

"A-amazing! Luna's Shade is keeping control of the aura spheres rather than letting them fly off!" The announcer shouted.

"Now use a bone rush - extreme speed combo!" Shade landed on the ground, the aura spheres making an massive circle in the air. He extended an bone rush, and then disappeared. In an instant, all the aura spheres exploded into a dazzling display, and Shade appeared back on the ground, grinning like a madman.

"So pretty!" The announcer swooned. I scratched Mars behind the ear, and Luna bowed to the audience alongside Shade, who she then recalled. "And now, up next is-" Just then the power went out. The lights in the stadium died, and I found myself in utter darkness. People around me muttered nervously, and I grabbed hold of Mars, who started growling. There was a rumbling, and the roof of the stadium collapsed, revealing a single person standing against the sun. Spotlights came on, both illuminating us and blinding us.

"Prepare for trouble..." The person said. "Because Team Rocket's come for your Pokémon!"


	21. Chapter 21

**I'd like to give a shout out to Juliet's Shadow for the awesome support. If you get the chance, check out her new story 'Written in the Stars.' And now, without further ado, here's the next chapter!**

POV: Mars

I growled at the man on the roof, who turned to the men beside him. People around us were starting to panic, while all the exits were blocked off by more Rocket members.

"Start it up." He said. The men grinned and a whistle sounded, followed by the revving of engines. I cursed and turned around, watching as the Rockets readied some kind of tube thing. I growled and placed myself in front of April. The revving sound intensified, and suddenly pokeballs started to fly past me, being sucked into the tubes.

"Burn! Thunder!" April shouted. Burn and Thunder's pokeballs whizzed past me, being lost in the mass of flying pokeballs that were lost to the Rockets. I cursed. People were trying to surge forwards, but were being forcibly held back at gunpoint.

"Hey! Recall your Absol!" A Rocket called, advancing towards us. We were at the side of the crowd, and the other Rockets weren't paying much attention to us. "I said recall your Absol!" The Rocket called, leveling his automatic rifle. April took a step back, and I took a step forwards, growling. The Rocket pointed his rifle nervously at me. "I'm not going to ask again! Recall your Absol!" The Rocket called.

"Wha...b-but...You can't do this!" April shouted. The Rocket glanced up at her, distracted for a second.

"The hell I-Argh!" He shouted as I leapt forwards, slamming a shadow claw into his stomach. He doubled over and I smashed my head into his, knocking him unconscious. Another Rocket noticed, and began to raise his rifle.

"No!" I roared, firing an ice beam. The man was frozen solid, along with the three others closest to him. "Run, April." I yelled. April looked at me, looked at the Rockets, balled her fists and hardened her face.

"No. I'm not leaving you, or Burn, or Thunder." She said. I growled in response, and charged a razor wind.

"Fine. Don't get yourself into trouble." I said, and ran towards the frozen Rockets, still holding the razor wind. I could feel it in my gut that this one was going to explode. I leapt over the wall of ice, and landed in the middle of five other Rockets that had come to investigate. I loosed the razor wind, causing it to blow up in my face, which _really _hurt. I slammed into the ice wall from the blast, and shakily made it to my feet, glaring around. The Rockets weren't going anywhere soon. Dear Arceus, humans were fragile. Now there were only three Rockets left, each of which were having trouble keeping the crowd back with just threats now. One raised his gun and fired off a few rounds, scaring off the crowd and giving me an opportunity to rush forwards. The first Rocket fell under an iron tail, though I was careful not to injure him too badly. The other two whirled upon me, only to be met with an ice beam to the face.

"I'll shut off the machine!" April said, rushing past me and running towards the tube. I followed, vaguely aware that the sounds of fighting could be heard in other parts of the stadium. The large machine whirred as it worked, still sucking up pokeballs. Other people were starting to rush forwards as April fiddled with the machine.

"Stand back." I told her. She nodded and I hit the machine with an iron tail, breaking hopefully important structures within. Smoke curled up from the top, and pokeballs began to spew out the back. "There we go. Find Burn and Thunder, I'm going to go take care of the other machines." I said. Before she had the chance to reply, I raced off, cursing the Rockets. Why did they have to show up here? Rage boiled in my stomach, and I gritted my teeth. I wasn't going to let this happen. Down the hall I could hear someone yelling, and I headed that way.

"I said put your Pokémon back into their pokeballs!" Someone yelled. I rounded a corner to find that a boy and his two Pokémon, a Poochyena and a Growlithe, were cornered by three Rocket grunts and their Golbats. The dog Pokémon were fiercely defending their master, while the young boy just stared at the Rockets dumbfounded. My anger boiled over the top, and something inside me snapped. I loosed a razor wind, which hurled both the Rockets and their Pokémon against the wall, KO'd.

"Get him out of here." I snapped at the Poochyena and ran off. Soon enough, I came to another machine guarded by twenty grunts. A few were desperately trying to get the thing on wheels while the others guarded them. A few saw me and started to run towards me, leveling their rifles. I cursed and fired an ice beam, stopping two in their tracks.

"Use thunderbolt! Burn, use flamethrower!" I heard April shout from behind me. A group of the Rockets were fried from a thunderbolt, while a few more and half of the machine were hit with flamethrower. The machine began to spew smoke, and pokeballs came shooting out of it. Why were they so poorly made? I charged an ice beam and froze the remaining few Rockets before turning back to April. Surprisingly enough, Thunder wasn't an Elekid anymore, but rather, he was had to have evolved into the Electabuzz now standing next to April, who glared at me with her arms crossed.

"Never run off like that again." She snapped. I winced inwardly, and nodded.

"Yeah. Sorry." I muttered, hanging my head. April sighed.

"I just...I don't want you to get hurt again. Now let's go take care of the rest of the machines." She said. I nodded and turned back to look down the hall, noticing that a large group of Rockets were rushing towards us. I cursed. "Thunder, Burn, get next to Mars. Thunder, you use thunderbolt, Mars, you use ice beam, and Burn, you use flamethrower. On my mark. Ready...?" April said, waiting. I charged an ice beam, and waited for April to make the call. She didn't get the chance, as the wall in front of us exploded, revealing a Nidoqueen and Ninetails. The Rockets skidded to a halt, lifting their rifles in anticipation. I was beginning to think that they wouldn't actually use them, as they hadn't shot me yet.

"Hey, Mars! Good timing, huh? Give us a sec and we'll take care of these goons for you." Nidoqueen said, stepping in front of us. Ninetails did the same and glowered at the Rockets. I dispelled my ice beam and grinned. So James had evolved Vulpix and Nidorina, huh?

"I'm going to rip your throat out." Ninetails said. James emerged from the hole in the wall, and grinned at April. His Mew/Eevee Pokémon sat on his shoulder, while Kirlia stood at his side.

"Yo! April! We saw the Rockets and came running. It's kinda funny actually, we heard what was going on, and Nidoqueen and Ninetails over there evolved themselves. Woulda been here sooner otherwise, but I'm not complaining." James said, grinning and scratching the back of his head.

"Hey, kid. Uh, p-put your Pokémon back in their pokeballs..." A Rocket said nervously. James glanced at them, and shrugged.

"Kirlia, Corey, would you mind relieving them of their firearms?" James asked. Kirlia and Mewvee (who James had named Corey, I guess) glowed, and the Rocket's weapons were pried from their hands. "Thanks. Nidoqueen, use hyper beam. Ninetails, use flamethrower." The two Pokémon loosed their attacks, blowing away the Rockets. April ran up and hugged James.

"Thank you for coming." She said. James looked taken aback, and carefully pried himself from April's grasp, blushing the whole time.

"Yeah, well what was I supposed to do? Leave you?" He said, kicking at a piece of rubble on the ground.

"Is everything OK over here?" A voice called, running up from behind us. I turned around to see Luna, who was running with the Blaziken from the Pokémon center.

"Yeah, we're good. We just took out this machine here and are on our way to take care of the rest." April said. Luna grinned and stopped in front of us.

"Great! Oh, and don't worry about those. Ace here demolished them!" She said proudly, patting Blaziken on the shoulder. He shrugged nonchalantly. "Now all that's left is to get up to the roof and take care of the guys up there." She said. April nodded and recalled Burn and Thunder. James recalled his Pokémon, minus Corey the Eevee/Mew guy.

"Ok, then how do we get up there?" April asked. Luna glanced nervously at one of her pokeballs.

"Well, uh..." She began. My ears pricked at a sound; the sound of rotors.

"Shh. Do you hear that?" I asked, walking to the hole in the wall and looking outside. A helicopter was flying in, with the red Rocket logo plastered to the side. I cursed and ran outside, April following. I watched as the helicopter came to land on the roof, and charged an ice beam.

"Mars, wait!" April shouted. I ignored her and fired, the white ice arcing up and hitting the spinning helicopter blades, doing absolutely nothing. I cursed and fired again, this time aiming beneath the rotors. Again, nothing happened.

"Ace, get up there and stop the helicopter! Bravo, you too!" Luna said, throwing out another pokeball. A Gallade leapt out, following Ace up onto the roof in a single bound. We watched as the two of them made quick work of the Rockets on the roof, and leapt back down, each holding a brown sack full of pokeballs.

"Woah! That was awesome!" James said. Luna beamed at her Pokémon and took the bags, recalling Bravo and Ace. There was a rumbling noise and I turned around, noticing that a truck was driving away with the few Rockets that were conscious. Luna cursed and reached for a pokeball.

"May I?" I asked, looking at April. She nodded.

"Go get 'em." She said. I grunted and took off, gradually gaining speed, though it wasn't fast enough. If I could just get close enough, slow them down just a bit, then I could stop them with an ice beam. As if to answer my prayers, a car pulled out in front of the truck, causing it to swerve and slam into a light post. Just as I got in range, the Rockets got over their whiplash and started to open the doors. I stopped half of them from getting away by freezing them to the truck with an ice beam. I leapt onto the hood of the truck and glared at the Rockets inside, who looked up at me fearfully.

"Stay in the truck." I snapped, charging an ice beam. The Rockets must've gotten the gist of it because they didn't budge. Sirens sounded, and suddenly Ace landed next to me.

"Nice work! Alright, I'll get these five to Officer Jenny, you get back to your trainer." The Blaziken said. I nodded and hopped off the car, glaring at one of the Rockets frozen to the truck. He winced, and I nodded, slowly trotting back towards April. Multiple police cars had pulled up around them, along with a few TV crews and ambulances. Officer Jenny was talking to Luna and James, while April just beamed at me.

"Great job, Mars!" She beamed. I shrugged and slipped past the vans to sit next to her.

"Hmph. Like I was going to let them get away." I muttered. April just beamed at me, and Officer Jenny turned to April. A blonde reporter and her cameraman were standing behind her, chatting with Luna and James.

"This reporter here would like to start her interviews with you. Is that ok?" Jenny asked. April nodded, and Jenny motioned for the reporter to step forwards. She smiled at April sweetly.

"What's your name, sweetie?" She asked.

"April." April said nervously.

"That's a nice name. You said that you helped stop the Rocket attack?"

"Yes." April said. The reporter smiled and turned to the cameraman, motioning for him to start rolling.

"I'm here at the biannual Celadon contest tent, where Team Rocket decided to make its first appearance in Kanto for the first time in six years. However, this attack was stopped in large part by three brave trainers, Luna, James, and the young girl here, April. Tell us, April. What exactly happened?" The reporter asked. April recounted the story, largely exaggerating my involvement. Apparently I had taken out twenty Rockets and their Pokémon with one attack. The reporter nodded and turned to me.

"And this is Mars, I take it?" She asked, leaning down to look at me.

"Yes." April said. "But be careful, he...he doesn't really like people all that much." April said. The reporter reached out to touch me and I growled in warning. The reporter withdrew her hand with a chuckle.

"I can see that. What a wonderful Absol you have here, heralded as the disaster Pokémon, and yet he risked so much to protect everyone. Now, here I have James, who..." I tuned out the rest of the reporter's speech. April scratched the top of my head, watching the reporter.

"What should we do now? I bet the contest's been called off." She said. I shrugged.

"How about the gym challenge?" I asked. April nodded, absently shifting her weight foot to foot.

"Maybe. Anyways, let's rest tonight, and then we'll figure it out tomorrow. Sound good?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Sounds good."


	22. Chapter 22

POV: Suicune

"Hmm. Well that didn't go as planned." Lugia mused, watching Mars in his psychic field. I growled. "I didn't expect him to take care of those Rockets so easily, but then again, they are Rockets. Guess I'll have to find a different way to test him." I made a _tsk _noise and shook my head. Lugia turned to me, slightly surprised. "What? No objections? I surely would have thought that you would've said something by now." He said. I sighed and glared at him.

"Hmph. You're going to test him whether I object or not, so I'm here to make sure you don't go too far." I snapped. Lugia chuckled and shook his head. We were silent for a moment before a question popped into my head. "How have you been controlling Team Rocket?" I asked. Lugia laughed for real this time.

"Control isn't necessarily the correct word. I merely give them slight psychic suggestions in order to move them in the direction I want them to go. If I could control them, I'd have ordered them to disband the first time we discovered them." Lugia explained. I nodded, and sighed.

"Whatever. So if that didn't work, then how are you going to test him now? And what are you going to test him on?" I asked. Lugia shrugged.

"I don't know. I'll see what happens when they get to Vermillion. Right now, though, they're about to take on the Celadon gym. Care to watch?" Lugia asked. The fact that he didn't answer my second question didn't go unnoticed, but I decided to let it drop. For now.

"Fine." I muttered, and stepped into the psychic field. April was just stepping up to the stand, Mars laying down next to her. Her opponent was Erika, who wore a flower-covered kimono and a red bow. This would be an interesting match, and I lay down, keeping my eyes on the psychic connection. Now to wait and see what happened.

POV CHANGE: Mars

I sat next to April, lazily watching the battle that was about to start. James, who had already gotten the Celadon badge, was sitting off to the side. Erika stood across from us, twirling a pokeball through her fingers.

"Tangrowth, you're up." She said with a sigh, tossing out her pokeball. The giant grass monster appeared on the field and grinned at me.

"Thunder, I choose you!" April called, throwing out Thunder. He eyed Tangrowth and nodded.

"Should be interesting." He said. Erika didn't make a sound, and April moved first.

"Thunder wave, and then follow it up with a thunderbolt!" April called. Thunder fired the wave of electricity, which stuck to Tangrowth, paralyzing it. Thunder followed it up with another bolt of electricity, which Tangrowth did nothing to avoid. The smoke cleared and revealed Tangrowth with hardly a scratch on him.

"Use giga drain, and then energy ball." Erika called. Thunder didn't stand a chance as Tangrowth sucked his health away and restored his own at the same time. Tangrowth grinned and charged a energy ball, sending Thunder flying backwards. April recalled him before any more damage could be done. He wasn't KO'd, but he wouldn't be much good against Tangrowth. She glanced at me, and I shrugged.

"Use Burn. I'm not really interested in fighting that guy." I said. April nodded and grabbed Burn's pokeball.

"Go, Burn! Use flamethrower!" April shouted. Burn appeared out of his pokeball, a flamethrower already charged.

"DIE!" He roared, loosing the blast of fire. Even from back here I could feel the heat radiating off of the field. When the smoke died down, it revealed a unconscious Tangrowth and the scorched black earth. Burn laughed triumphantly, only to be silenced by the next Pokémon Erika sent out. A Ludicolo. The grass/water type grinned at Burn, who returned the grin with a death glare.

"Burn, use flamethrower!" April called. Erika muttered something while playing with a flower, and Ludicolo countered with a water gun. "Now use slash!" Burn dashed forwards, only to be met by another water gun, this time slamming right into his face. Burn cursed and glared at Ludicolo, who promptly began to dance. Burn blinked in surprise, and rain began to pour from the sky. I also realized that there wasn't a roof over the stadium.

"Hm. I think Ludicolo just used rain dance. Be careful, fire moves are now at half power." I said.

"Use flamethrower, but hold it and walk forwards!" April called, ignoring my warning. Erika sighed and looked at Ludicolo.

"Nature power." She said. Ludicolo complied, charging a ball of energy and loosing it. The attack quickly transformed into a torrent of water that flew straight at Burn.

"Fire!" April called. Burn loosed the flamethrower, which was pitifully weak. The combination of rain dance vs. a water move boosted by rain daince did not match up well, and Burn found himself being sent head over heels from the attack. He lay on the ground unmoving, and Erika looked at April expectantly. I found myself liking the silent gym leader less and less. April moved to recall Burn, but was stopped when he pushed himself slowly off the ground.

"Arceus...damn it..." He wheezed, glaring at Ludicolo, who danced in response. "No. I will not. Be beat. By. A. FREAKING. GRASS TYPE!" He roared, fire erupting around him. I grinned, recognizing the ability as blaze, which meant that Ludicolo was in trouble, rain dance or not. Then Burn began to glow in the white light of evolution. He began to grow and change, growing in height and his roar becoming deeper. Wings sprouted from his back, and the light died, revealing Burn as a full grown and very pissed off Charizard. I started to laugh. "NOW DIE!" He roared, and released a fire blast. The star of fire was so hot that the rain evaporated before it could dull the attack. The fire blast hit Ludicolo and sent it flying, KO'd. Erika looked surprised, and recalled her KO'd Ludicolo.

"TAKE THAT!" Burn roared, stretching his wings and roaring. I grinned and shook my head, figuring that he'd have the match in the bag.

"Venusaur." Erika said. The giant green Pokémon appeared on the field and studied Burn carefully. He was breathing hard and Ludicolo hurt him bad, but he was still more than willing to fight. The rain began to die, and Burn roared.

"THAT'S IT, SKY! STOP RAINING OR I'LL TEAR YOU TO PIECES!" He roared.

"Flamethrower!" April called. Burn roared once more and unleashed a torrent of fire at Venusaur.

"Petal dance." Erika said. The twirling leaves sprung up around Venusaur, protecting him from flamethrower. The leaves kept spinning despite the fact that they were burning, and flew straight towards Burn, who took the attack head on. He roared and stretched his wings, leaping into the air. He stretched his wings and dove straight at Venusaur, slamming into him and beating him with his wings.

"Solar beam." Erika said. The flower on Venusaur's back began to glow as he charged power.

"Fire blast!" April called. Burn roared and hit Venusaur with a point-blank fire blast, sending up a cloud of smoke into the air. There was a flash of light, and Burn was sent flying skywards, lifted up by a solarbeam. Burn slammed into the ground and stayed there, unmoving. The smoke cleared, and revealed Venusaur still standing, but breathing hard. I cursed and stood up. "Ok, Mars. It's up to you." April said, recalling Burn. "Great job Burn." She muttered.

"Synthesis." Erika said. I cracked my neck, unworried and ready to fight. Venusaur glowed, and he stood up, his previous wounds dissappearing. He grinned at me.

"Absol, huh? Should be interesting. Never fought one of you before. Aren't you supposed to have a horn or something?" Venusaur said. I growled.

"Yeah. We are." I snapped.

"Mars, use ice beam and follow it up with shadow claw!" April called. I leapt forwards, charging an ice beam and firing it. Venusaur countered with petal dance, sending the frozen leaves towards me. I cursed and charged shadow claw, shattering the frozen petals with it. "Keep using shadow claw!" April called. I cursed again and kept going, slicing the leaves to bits. A few of the petals got past, hitting me pretty hard, but I kept going, slamming both of my front legs into Venusaur. He winced on impact, and petal dance stopped.

"Frenzy plant." Erika said calmly. I cursed, unsure of what to do. Such a powerful attack would probably KO me in one hit, especially from the Venusaur that could survive a point-blank fire blast.

"Razor wind!" April called frantically. "And ice beam! Use them both!" Venusaur stomped his feet, and plants shot up out of the ground, reaching towards me at astounding speed. The tendrils wrapped around me, and I charged the razor wind, feeling instinctively that it was going to blow up in my face. The tendrils tightened around me, the spines digging into me. This was just the beginning of the attack too, as more tendrils raced towards me from all directions.

"Damn." I said, and loosed the razor wind. It exploded right as the plants hit me.

"Argh!" I heard Venusaur yell, having been caught in the blast. I charged an ice beam and fired in that direction, hopefully scoring a direct hit. The ground greeted me none-too-warmly, as I smashed into it at what felt like terminal velocity. My body protested, but I still managed to get to my feet, breathing heavily. The dust settled, and revealed a completely frozen Venusaur. I grinned triumphantly, and then winced, letting myself fall to the ground.

"Freaking...frenzy plant." I managed to get out. April rushed up beside me, and put a hand on my side. Erika recalled Venusaur, and smiled at me.

"Are you ok, Mars?" She asked. I groaned and got to my feet, wincing as my shoulder began to ache.

"Yeah. I just got hit by frenzy plant, the strongest grass move out there, and part of a petal dance, one of the second strongest grass moves. I'm perfectly fine." I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. April laughed a little and grabbed a small spray device out of her bag.

"Hold still, this'll probably sting a bit." She said, and sprayed it on me. My body was washed with relief, and I felt a bit of strength return to me. "I only just recently thought of using these. I had them at the start of our journey and just remembered them." She said sheepishly. A label was stuck on the side of the bottle, which read 'Super Potion.'

"Good job." Erika said, approaching with a small smile. "Your name is April, right?" She asked. April nodded, and took the badge Erika was holding out to her. "Would I be right in saying that you and your friend over there were the ones that rescued all the Pokémon from the Rockets yesterday?"

"Yes, we were. Great job, April! You too, Mars." James said, walking onto the field from the bleachers. Erika bowed to both of them.

"Thank you for that. I was in the crowd, and didn't get the chance to let my precious Pokémon out before they started to suck up the pokeballs. If it wasn't for you, I would've lost my precious partners. Thank you." Erika said, bowing even more to them. April blushed and shifted from foot to foot, while James laughed nervously, both of them being unsure as to what to do.

"Aw, it was nothing." James said. Erika smiled and shook her head.

"No, it certainly wasn't that. It was very commendable of you. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I have a favor to ask of each of you." Erika said, and pulled two pokeballs out from behind her back. "These two Pokémon were given to me by a dear friend of mine who became incapable of caring for them anymore. She asked me to find suitable trainers that could befriend them, and after your actions yesterday and after battling with you, I decided that you would be suitable candidates." Erika said.

"Oh, no. We couldn't take them..."April said, shaking her head. Erika laughed.

"Nonsense. I insist. They're very kind and I'm sure they'll be great additions to your team." Erika said, and pushed the pokeballs onto April and James.

"Uh, thanks. I'll take good care of it." James said. Erika nodded.

"I'm sure you will. Now get going, I'm sure you are wanting to get to the Pokémon center to heal your Pokémon." Erika said. April nodded, gripping the pokeball.

"Thank you." She said, following James out the door. I followed, slipping through the door right as it closed. "Looks like we've got a new friend, Mars." April said. I nodded.

"Let's get to the Pokémon center before we let these two out." James said, staring at the pokeball. April nodded in agreement, and we headed towards the Pokémon center.

I sighed and leapt off of the table, cracking my neck. Joy had just finished healing me, and was working on both Thunder and Burn now. Their injuries were more severe, and thus required more care than I did. April grinned at me and motioned for me to sit down next to her and James, who was anxiously twirling the pokeball through his fingers.

"Ready?" April asked. James nodded, and they threw out the pokeballs at the same time. The Pokémon materialized in front of us, revealing a Lotad and a Treeko.

"Hi!" Lotad said happily, grinning at me and April. April knelt in front of her and smiled. "I'm Lotad. I like all kinds of things, like water. And rain. And dancing." Lotad said. Well, this one was quite happy.

"Hello! My name's April. What should I call you...?" She asked. April thought for a second and then nodded. "I'll call you Happy! Because you seem like a happy type." April said. Lotad grinned and nodded in approval.

"I like that name! Happy!" Happy said. I nodded, agreeing with the deduction. Happy did fit the personality description of this one. Happy ran around, repeatedly saying her name. "Happy happy happy happy. I like the name happy!" She said. I glanced over at James, who was greeting his Treeko.

"Hmph. Just Treeko then, huh? Fine with me." He said in a low rumbling voice. James grinned and stood up, recalling Treeko back into his pokeball. April did the same, and Joy called her to the counter, saying that Burn and Thunder had been fully recovered.

"I'll let you meet the rest of the team when we get on the road." James said to his pokeball. "I don't thing letting Nidoqueen out here is a good idea." He said. I silently agreed with him, imagining that Nidoqueen would probably break the floor. _Hey, Mars! I'm going to hatch now! Figure that since April's gotten a new team member, why not up the count by one? Make her team even with James' team. _A voice echoed in my head. I glance towards April, who was walking back to us, Burn and Thunder's pokeballs clipped to her belt.

"Uh, April..." I trailed off, seeing that her backpack on the floor was shaking. "I think the egg's hatching." I said. April rushed forwards, unzipping her backpack and pulling the egg out. A thin crack appeared on the shell, and white light leaked out. James knelt next to her, watching the egg. Joy rushed over with Blissey to see what was going on, but before they could get there the egg broke into pieces, revealing the Pokémon inside.

**A lot happened in this chapter, so let's do a headcount. April's Charmeleon, Burn, evolved into Charizard; April and James both got new Pokémon** **from Erika, Lotad and Treeko, respectively; and now April's egg hatched. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it. **


	23. Chapter 23

**Thanks to XxXSqeeksXxX for the tip. I'll be putting the list of relevant characters (and known members of their teams) at the beginning of each chapter. **

**April's Team: Burn (Charizard); Thunder (Electabuzz); Mars (Do I really need to say it?); Happy (Lotad); Sam (Riolu/Latios mix)**

**James' Team: Nidoqueen; Kirlia; Treeko; Ninetails; Corey (Mewvee)**

**Luna's Team: Ace (Blaziken); Shade (Lucario); Bravo (Gallade)**

**Lucien's Team: Soul (Lucario); Draco (Shiny Dragonite); Tia (?)**

**Yen's Team: Taix (Zoroark)**

**Parker's Team: Canon (Blastoise); Cubone; Jolteon; Scyther**

* * *

Mars POV

The Pokémon that emerged from the egg was very...interesting, to say the least. It was blue in color, the size and shape of a Riolu, minus the jet-like wings sticking out of his back. A red triangle sat in the middle of his chest, and his arms were more rounded than a Riolu's. He opened his red eyes and waved at us.

"Hi!" He said. I stepped forwards and sniffed him. "Hey, back off. Personal space, man." He said, pushing me back. I snorted and shook my head.

"Well, you smell like a Riolu, at least. But you smell like something else too, I'm not sure what." I mused. He shrugged, and April picked him up.

"Oh my goodness! Aren't you cute!" She said, swinging him around. He just laughed and kicked his legs. "Now, let's name you. Hmm...how about...Sam?" April asked. Sam nodded and grinned at her. April placed him on the ground, only to have him shoot up into the air like a rocket, zooming around the Pokémon center. There was a flash of light, and suddenly Corey the Mewvee was zooming around after him. They both laughed hysterically, chasing each other around the Pokémon center.

"Keep your Pokémon in their pokeballs please!" Joy shouted, not even looking up from where she was working.

"Sorry!" April and James shouted together.

"Corey, return!" James said, expertly hitting Corey with the beam of red light. He grinned at April. "I've gotten better at hitting Corey. It no longer takes me twenty times." He said proudly. April barely registered this as she pulled a new pokeball out of her pocket.

"Ok, Sam. It's time to catch you." April announced. Sam stopped flying and grinned at April, who tossed the pokeball at him. He disappeared in a flash of red light, and the pokeball clicked three times, indicating a successful capture. April picked up the ball and stared at it.

"Well? Are we waiting for something, or can we go?" James asked. April nodded and zipped up her backpack, clipping Sam's pokeball to her belt.

"Sure. Let's get going." She said.

POV CHANGE: Lucien

"Yes, sir. I think we found the ones who stole the-" The rocket didn't get to finish the sentence, as I smashed my fist into his temple. I picked up the radio and binoculars, looking through them to view the Celadon Pokémon center, only to see April and James walking out, Mars following close behind.

"Listen, you need to tell your people to be more attentive to their surroundings. Seriously, it was way too easy sneaking up on this idiot." I said, speaking into the radio. April and James started to walk down the street, heading towards the edge of town.

"_Who is this?" _A voice crackled over the radio.

"God. Now, if you don't want to suffer my wrath, I suggest you leave whoever you were told had the eggs that were stolen alone." I said. Silence on the other end.

_"Who are you really?" _The voice said quietly.

"Lucien. And I've got one of the eggs. Just try and take it away from me." I snarled into the radio, hurling it off the edge of the building before bending down and grabbing the unconscious Rocket. I pulled some twine out of the inside pocket of my jacket and proceeded to tie him up, binding his hands much tighter than I probably should have.

"I see you're still busy." Someone said behind me. I whirled, cocking a fist back and ready for a fight, but restrained myself when I saw the person. She was tall, towering over my own 5 foot 9 inches by nearly a foot. Her blue hair was stuck into a black baseball cap, and she wore a black top and jeans, with black combat boots. A Zoroark stood next to her, sporting black sunglasses. "How's it going, Lucien? I haven't seen you in a while." She asked. She looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place it.

"Do I know you...?" I asked, slowly lowering my fist. Her jaw dropped open, and the Zoroark stopped playing with whatever was in its hand to glare at me. Soul popped out of his pokeball to stand next to me.

"Yeah, no, I don't know who they are either." He said. "But that Zoroark looks vaguely familiar..." He mused, and then shook his head. "No, sorry, I'm thinking of N's Zoroark. Who are you?" Soul asked. I nodded and looked expectantly at the woman.

"Seriously? My name's Yen. This is Taix. From the Kalos region?" Yen asked. I shook my head, and Soul shrugged. Yen sighed and shook her head. "Seriously? I helped you with the Flare crisis and all. Stopped the ultimate weapon?" Yen prompted. A small spark flicked in my head, and suddenly it clicked. Yen, from the Kalos region, had indeed helped me stop Flare from wiping Pokémon off the face of the earth. Why that had been Flare's goal, I still have no idea.

"Oh, Yen. Hi. I'm a little busy now, so come back later." I said, and grabbed the Rocket by the shirt collar, lifting him up and onto my shoulder. "Right now, I've got to go...ah..._extract information _from this goon. Go play with your Zoroark somewhere or something." I tried to walk past her, but she stopped me.

"No, I don't think so. I'm going to come with you. I miss the whole 'save the world' shtick, and I've got the feeling that you're doing that right now." Yen said, putting her hand on her hips. I sighed, and the Rocket groaned, beginning to wake up. Soul hit him on the side of the head for me, and he went back to 'sleep.'

"Fine. Just don't get in my way." I snapped, being too impatient to argue. Soul was the next one to stop me, putting a hand on my chest and looking towards the Pokémon center. "What is it now?!" I said, dropping the Rocket non-too-gently and whirling around. I grabbed the binoculars and looked through them, quickly spotting April and James talking to someone in front of the Pokémon center.

"Looks like Luna's here too." Soul said, grinning.

"Who the bloody hell is Luna?! And why do you expect me to remember this?!" I said, dropping the binoculars. Soul shook his head.

"Luna's the one who helped you with the Eon duo. Remember now?" Soul said. "Based on her aura, I'd say that she wants to travel a little ways with April and James. What do you think?" I shrugged and picked up the Rocket again.

"Do you honestly think I care? If she wants to travel with them, more power to her. At least those two will be safe with her around. Now can we get a move on? Christmas is going to get here before I actually get the chance to interrogate this guy." I grumbled, and walked past Yen. _Hey, can we go meet Luna? I haven't seen her in a while. _Tia said in my head. **Sure. We'll meet her in Vermilion. **I responded, speaking in my head. **But for now, stay out of my head. You know I don't like that. **Tia was silent, withdrawing from my mind, and I smiled. Now, I could finally get to the fun part of my job. Interrogation; roughly translated as hurting people.

POV CHANGE: Mars

I carefully watched Luna out of the corner of my eye as we walked. She seemed innocent enough, but that still didn't mean I trusted her. I mean, come on. She just walked up to us and practically said 'Hey! I'm going to Vermillion city too! Want to travel there together?' No just walked up to you and asked to go on a journey with someone they just met. Except Red. Or Lucien. Know what? Forget it. Ace walked next to her, not really paying attention to anything.

"So, Luna, how many contests have you won?" April asked. The two of them had really hit it off, talking mostly about contests and stuff. She was pretty disappointed about not being able to finish the Celadon contest.

"Oh, I've won about twenty five contests total, fifteen of those being big contests." Luna said. I tuned out the rest of the conversation, not really caring enough to keep listening. James was doing the same, walking ahead of us and swishing a stick back and forth across the dirt road. We had left Celadon about an hour ago, and were taking a road that led straight to Vermillion instead of heading back through Saffron. Apparently this road was pretty new.

"Hey! Is that you, April?" A familiar voice called. I couldn't place who it was exactly, but the sheer obnoxiousness of the voice made me think that I knew it from somewhere. April stopped walking and turned around.

"P-Parker?!" April said. I turned around and looked at the boy that was running up to us. "What are you doing here?" She asked, running up to meet him with a smile. Then the name Parker clicked for me. He was the one who got Canon the Squirtle, and we had fought him on route 1.

"Hey! You're not shocked to see me! Awesome! Well, while we're here, why don't we have a battle? I'll show you that Canon is stronger than your Absol now." Parker said, grinning wickedly. April looked over at me in surprise.

"R-really? You want to battle?" April asked, glancing back at Luna and James. James nodded vigorously, and Luna smiled, indicating for her to go on.

"We're not in a rush. Go ahead." Luna said. April nodded and turned to Parker, who grinned and pulled a pokeball off of his belt.

"Four on four OK with you?" He asked. April nodded, and pulled Happy's pokeball off of her belt. "Alright, then I choose you, Cubone!" Parker threw out his pokeball, and a Cubone appeared from it, twirling its bone nervously. "This is my newest addition." Parker said proudly.

"Awesome. Time for you to meet my newest addition; Happy!" April said, and threw out Happy. The Lotad grinned at Bone, and skittered around nervously.

"This is my first fight. I'll do my best!" Happy said.

"Alright, let's start this off with water gun!" April called. Happy smiled and fired a jet of water at Bone, who tried to block it with his bone. However, the Pokémon misjudged the attack and ended up with a water gun directly in the face.

"Use bone rush!" James called. Cubone wiped water from his eyes and charged, brandishing the bone high.

"Astonish!" April called. Happy shot forwards with all of her nervous energy and slammed into Cubone before jumping back. Cubone stopped his attack, and glared at Happy. He was breathing hard. "Now wrap it up with an absorb!" April called. Happy began to glow as energy was restored to him, and Cubone fell to the ground, KO'd.

"No!" Parker shouted, and returned him. "Fine. Next up is you, Jolteon! Start it off with shockwave!" The Jolteon appeared on the field in a flash of light, growling and sparking with electricity. Happy stopped running for a split second, and that's when Jolteon struck. The lightning arced from Jolteon and struck Happy, sending her tumbling backwards. All it took was one hit, and Happy was KO'd. April sighed and recalled her.

"Alright, then I choose Burn." April threw out Burn, who roared and stretched his wings, glaring at Jolteon, who shook his head, getting over his prior fear at seeing the giant fire dragon.

"I'm electric, you're part flying. This match is as good as mine." Jolteon said.

"I'm going to burn you to a crisp." Burn said, cracking his knuckles.

"Fire blast!" April yelled.

"Thunderbolt!" Parker said. Jolteon fired first, the bolt of electricity arcing towards Burn, who unleashed his inferno the second it reached him. The star of fire easily overpowered the electric attack, blasting it to pieces as it sped towards Jolteon, who was sent tumbling backwards, cursing. He slowly stood up, but Burn was already on top of him.

"Slash!" April called. Burn brought his claws down onto Jolteon, who fainted upon impact. Parker recalled him and grinned at April.

"Awesome Charizard! But I doubt he'll be able to withstand Canon!" Parker yelled, and threw out his next Pokémon. A Blastoise emerged, and grinned at Burn. "See? Water trumps fire!" Parker said. April frowned and Burn grinned.

"Oh, I'm so going to mop the floor with you." Burn snarled, cracking his neck now. April shook her head and held up his pokeball.

"Return, Burn." She said. Burn glanced back at her, surprised.

"What? No! Wait, I wanna-" His complaining was cut off as he was sucked into the pokeball. I sighed and shook my head. The guy really did like to fight, didn't he?

"Alright, Thunder. You're up." April said, tossing out Thunder. He grinned at Canon and twirled his arms experimentally. "Now use thunderbolt!" Thunder fired the bolt of electricity, which was stopped by a green force field. Canon was using protect. "Thunder punch!"

"Skull bash!" Canon lowered his head, preparing to meet Thunder as he rushed forwards with two thunder punches charged. Thunder was ten feet away when Canon charged, rushing straight at him.

"Duck under him!" April called. Thunder dropped to his knees and slid under Canon's lowered head, putting him directly beneath Canon's stomach. Thunder lashed upwards, striking Canon with both of his fists. "Now finish it with thunderbolt!" April called. Thunder crackled with electricity, and blasted Canon with the thunderbolt, the power of it lifting the hulk of a Pokémon upwards. Canon fell to Thunder's left, rendered unconscious. Parker cursed and returned him, shaking his head.

"Alright then. Let's go, Scyther!" Parker called. The bug Pokémon grinned at Thunder, rubbing the edge of his forearms together. I'd always hated Scyther. They were rash and enjoyed watching others in pain. I'd dealt with quite a few of them in the Johto region while I lived there, and this one was no different from the others. Even from here I could see the malicious glint in his eyes that said 'I'm going to rip you to pieces.' I grunted and stepped forwards.

"Return Thunder. I'll take this one." I said. April didn't argue, and recalled Thunder, who was lazily looking up at the clouds. Good to see the guy was still pretty lax about things, even if he did evolve. I cracked my neck and stopped twenty feet in front of Scyther, glaring into his eyes.

"Hey, Absol, aren't you supposed to have a horn?" Scyther sneered. "Ha! An Absol without a horn shouldn't be too much trouble. I'll turn you into mincemeat." Scyther said, rubbing his blades together in anticipation. My good eye twitched in irritation.

"Scyther, use fury-" I cut Parker off by firing an ice beam, freezing Scyther solid in one blast.

"What was that?" I snapped, glaring at the frozen Scyther. He didn't even have time to look surprised, the same malicious look was plastered on his face, and he still had his blades rubbing together. I started to turn away, when April stopped me.

"Mars, free him." She said. I sighed and turned back towards Scyther, charging a razor wind. Luckily, this one wouldn't explode. I fired, and the ice shattered, freeing Scyther while simultaneously hurting him. Parker recalled Scyther, who was laying unmoving on the ground, and sighed.

"Well, that sucks. I barely did anything to you. You really are good, April. I heard from Sabrina that you knocked out her entire team using nothing but Mars, and decided that I just had to battle you." Parker said, losing his happy-go-lucky attitude. Defiance flared in his eyes, and he cracked his knuckles. "But you just wait! I'll beat you yet!" He shouted, and ran back towards Cerulean. I turned back towards April, who had turned to Luna.

"Don't worry, I'll heal your Pokémon for you." Luna said, taking Burn, Thunder, and Happy's pokeballs. James grinned at both her and me.

"And when she gets done with that, you and me will have a battle!" James announced. I sighed and shook my head, while April giggled.

"Sure! We'll do a four-on-four match too." April said. Luna smiled and shook her head, pressing what looked like a super potion bottle to the button and spraying it into the ball. I shook my head again. This was going to be a long night.


	24. Chapter 24

**April's Team: Mars (duh); Burn (Charizard); Thunder (Electabuzz); Happy (Lombre); Sam (Riolu/Latios)**

**James' Team: Kirlia; Ninetails; Nidoqueen; Corey (Mewvee); Grovyle (Evolves from Treeko)**

**Luna's Team: Ace (Blaziken); Bravo (Gallade); Shade (Lucario)**

**Yen's Team: Taix (Zoroark); Eve (Umbreon)**

**Lucien's Team: Soul (Lucario); Draco (Shiny Dragonite); Tia (?)**

* * *

**Just to be clear; Bold in the text is Lucien's thoughts, and **_italic _**is Tia's thoughts during their mental conversations. **

POV: Lucien

I cracked my knuckles, walking out of the small shack off of route 16, between the bike route and Celadon city. Three unconscious rockets were sitting in the shack behind me, having been knocked out after I finished interrogating them. Yen was outside waiting for me, looking sick to her stomach and leaning against Taix, her Zoroark. She saw me and shook her head.

"I heard screaming. What'd you do to them?" She asked. I frowned in disappointment and shook my head.

"All I did was break the guy's finger. One single finger, and he spilled the beans. They've only got a base in Vermillion, as far as they know. I'll have to go there if I want anything else, they're just grunts and don't know anything more." I explained. Yen frowned.

"I've already been to Vermillion. Beat the gym leader there, and didn't notice any suspicious activity." She said. I shrugged, letting Draco out of his pokeball. The green Dragonite glanced at Yen, who smiled back. He grunted to Yen, and her smile widened.

"Hey, see, he recognizes me." Yen said. "It's good to see you too, Draco." I glanced between the two of them, and then sighed, remembering a tiny little detail that I had forgotten about Yen. She was like N in the fact that she could understand Pokémon. I slapped myself on the forehead.

"Well, I feel stupid. How could I forget that you can understand Pokémon?" I said with a sigh. "Oh, well. Nothing I can do about it. Heading to Vermillion actually works out well for me, I need to meet April and James there. If you don't want to come, that's fine. I'm heading out." I said, and began to climb on the back of Draco.

"Hey! Wait, I've got a few questions for you!" Yen said, standing up straight and glaring at me. "First off, what are you going to do with those three?" She asked. I sighed and shook my head.

"Kill them and eat their livers." I said, my voice dripping sarcasm. "What do you think? I called Officer Jenny about five minutes ago. She'll be here to pick them up in about, oh, ten minutes. Is that it? Patience is not one of my many virtues, and it's wearing thin at the moment." I snapped. _You need to calm down. _Tia chided me, speaking telepathically once more. _You know how you get when you get upset. Is it because of what Arceus told you? _She asked. I sighed and put a hand to my temple, rubbing it. **Kinda, yeah. That's what's got me riled up. **I told her in my head. **Now please, out of my head. How many times must I tell you this? **Tia laughed, and withdrew, leaving me to apologize to Yen. I sighed and glanced back at Yen. "Sorry for the outburst. Just a bit stressed as of late. Now what else do you want to talk about?" I asked, trying to keep anger and annoyance out of my voice. Yen grabbed one of her pokeballs and let out an Umbreon, who glared at me. Taix nodded and stood next to her.

"I challenge you to a battle. Last time you creamed all of my Pokémon in one hit, and this time will be different. You'll be surprised at how much stronger we've gotten. Eve, get ready to fight." Yen said. The little Umbreon with blue rings growled and got in a fighting position.

"What, I don't get to go first?" Taix asked, speaking in perfect English. I blinked in surprise and shook my head. I was forgetting tons of stuff, wasn't I? What else should I remember about her?

"No, not this time. I'm going to give Eve a chance to battle. You ready, Lucien?" Yen asked, grinning at Taix, who pouted and stepped to the side. Eve the Umbreon stepped forwards, growling bravely at Draco, who stifled a laugh. The Umbreon might be brave, but it was just stupid to act that way in front of Draco.

"No. I refuse. If you aren't coming to Vermillion with me, then have fun battling Misty in Cerulean, assuming you've already gotten your badges from Sabrina and Erika." I said, this time making no attempt to hide the annoyance in my voice. Yen's jaw dropped.

"B-but...last time you said..." She stuttered. I shook my head.

"This is not like last time. A) I don't have time for this. B) Even though you have undoubtedly gotten stronger, I doubt it would be enough to beat me. C) I'm not in the mood for a...'fair' fight. Fair enough?" I asked. Draco glanced back at me and sighed. "That's enough out of you, Draco." I snapped. _She really wants to fight you. _Tia said in my head. _Soul really did a number on her last time, if I remember right._ I gritted my teeth, ignoring her.

"But...gym leader's aren't allowed to decline challenges!" Yen said. The comment struck me like a thunderbolt, and I narrowed my eyes at her. Draco stiffened and glared at her, opening his mouth to say something. Yen spoke before either of us could. "What, you don't think I didn't research you after last time? Y was more than willing to tell me a bit about you after I helped with the Flare crisis." Yen snapped. I sighed and shook my head. Y was the current champion of the Kalos region, having risen to that rank two years ago. He was loose lipped and couldn't keep secrets worth a damn, but was a hell of a Pokémon trainer.

"Figures that Y would be the one to let it slip." I muttered, scratching the back of my neck. "Knew we shouldn't have trusted him with that information. Listen, Yen. This stays between us. No one else should know. You got that?" I said. Yen paused, and nodded.

"Only if you battle with us." Taix added. I shot him a glare that made the Zoroark cringe.

"I will battle with you if I bloody well feel like it. Just to be clear, I'm not your average gym leader. I choose who I want to battle, not the other way around. I battled you last time out of respect for what you had done, if you want to battle me again, prove that you can. Get the rest of the gym badges in the region, and then I'll consider it. Deal?" I asked. Yen's eyes lit up in excitement, and she nodded, recalling Eve. _Better. _Tia said. **Shut it.**

"Yes! I'll definitely do that! I'm going to head to Cerulean now to get my next gym badge, so I'll see you when I get them all!" Yen shouted, turning around and dashing excitedly into the trees. Taix sighed and followed at a lope. Draco craned his head to look back at me, grinning.

"Shut it, you. Let's get going. I want to make Vermillion before sundown." I said. He nodded and leapt into the sky, zooming across the landscape. **Well, my secret's all but out anyways. Thanks to Green and that reporter.**I sighed and shook my head. What did she say I had to do? Speak with a reporter on board a cruise ship? **Maybe...I'll be able to...**A plan slowly formulated in my head, and I nodded. If this worked...the legendaries weren't the only ones who could 'delay' the future. Because by Arceus, I wasn't just going to sit back and let it happen.

POV CHANGE: Mars

I glared at Kirlia, who did a little pirouette and curtsied to me. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. Whatever she had just done really pissed me off. That hurt worse than a backfired razor wind.

"What was that?" April asked incredulously. James grinned.

"What, you didn't know? Kirlia is part Fairy type, and can learn fairy type moves. That right there was dazzling gleam. Pretty awesome, right?" James asked. I growled, and Kirlia smiled at me mischievously. Fairy type, that made an unfortunate amount of sense. The stupid things were super effective against a dark type like me.

"Well...that's...I...Mars, use shadow claw!" April yelled, unable to find the words to express her surprise. I sprung forwards, my claws glowing with the purple energy of shadow claw. Kirlia smiled at me again, and bowed.

"I am sorry." She said. "This is going to hurt."

"Use dazzling gleam!" James said. Kirlia began to glow, and launched her attack in a flash of white light.

"Use iron tail!" April shouted. I cursed and twirled, hoping to cut through the move with my attack. The iron tail cut through dazzling gleam with ease, lessening the damage on me, and slamming into Kirlia's side. She spun and fell to the ground, barely managing to get to her feet. I wasn't in much better condition, the only reason I was standing was out of sheer willpower.

"Alright, that's enough. This battle is a draw." Luna announced. "No point in injuring them more." I mentally sighed and stood up, walking back to April. So far, this battle had been a complete draw. Thunder was defeated by Nidoqueen, who was consequentially beaten by Burn, who proceeded to knock himself and Ninetails out simultaneously. Now, my and Kirlia's battle was a draw. All that was left was the fight between Happy and Treeko, they had decided not to use Corey and Sam because they were so young. April smiled at James, who responded with a grin as he recalled Kirlia.

"Well, this is frustrating. Neither of us are getting anywhere, are we?" He asked. April smiled and shook her head.

"No, we're not. It's fun! Let's keep going." April said. James grinned, nodded, and sent out his Treeko. "Alright, Happy! You're up!" Happy appeared on the field and smiled at me and April.

"How'd I do on my last battle?" She said, firing each word at machinegun pace. I processed it for a minute, hoping that I heard her right, before answering.

"Great. You beat Cubone. Now focus, you've got another opponent." I said. Happy turned around and grinned at Treeko, who was already on top of her. He slammed his fist into Happy, driving her into the ground.

"Happy! Use astonish!" April called. Treeko brought his fist up to hit Happy again, only to find that he had a Lotad sticking out of his stomach. Treeko was sent stumbling backwards, and Happy smiled at him.

"Good punch!" Happy said.

"Thanks. That was a pretty good hit you just got in." Treeko said, watching Happy carefully. Happy just smiled and skittered around.

"Nature power!" April called. Happy glowed, and energy began to flow from the ground and into her. She charged a ball of energy and fired, the attack transforming into energy ball. Treeko dove to the side, and dashed forwards, using absorb on Happy. "Astonish!" Happy dashed forwards and slammed into Treeko, knocking him backwards once again. He cursed and stood up, glaring at Happy.

"No way am I going to lose to you." He snapped, and began to glow. It was a glow different from an evolutionary glow; he glowed green instead of white. I recognized the ability as overgrow, which spelled trouble for Happy. Happy just kept smiling and running around with her boundless energy.

"Oh, pretty! I like that!" Happy said. "Do I have an ability like that?" She mused, and stopped running for a split second.

"Bullet seed!" James called, taking advantage of Happy's momentary lack of focus. Treeko opened his mouth, and shot multiple green bullet-like seeds out of his mouth. They struck Happy with impressive force, sending her tumbling across the field.

"Happy!" April called, concern in her voice. She slowly got to her feet, still grinning and glowing white. I sighed and shook my head. Figures she'd evolve now. The flash of light was brilliant, and when I looked back at her, she now stood as a proud Lombre. "Happy, you evolved! That's awesome! Let's finish him with a nature power!" April said excitedly. Lombre grinned, nodded, and began to glow with nature energy. The power concentrated in her fist, making it glow with white light. Why wasn't it an energy ball? I looked at where Lombre was now standing. She stood on a small outcropping of rocks instead of grass. I deduced that to the reason it was different.

"Treeko, use pound!" Treeko dashed forwards to greet Happy with his fist. The two of them swung, their fists hitting each other simultaneously in the stereotypical double knockout. The fell to the ground, both KO'd.

"It's a tie!" Luna said, grinning. April smiled and recalled Happy, while James recalled Treeko. Luna smiled and pulled out a super potion, bending it down to spray it on me. I kept myself from growling and let her spray it on me, feeling the relief rushing through my body. "I'll heal your Pokémon real quick, and then let's hit the road. I bet we could still make Vermillion before sundown if we hurried." She said, standing up. I cracked my neck, feeling much better than I had, and looked up. A green dragon sped by overhead towards Vermillion, moving so fast that I lost sight of it as soon as I had seen it. What was that? April put a hand on me, and I looked at her.

"What are you looking at?" She asked, looking up at the sky. I shook my head, glancing at the sun. Judging from its position, I'd give it about four hours until it went down.

"Nothing." I muttered. She nodded, and took Burn, Happy, and Thunder's pokeballs from Luna. I sighed and looked down, shaking my head.

"We ready to go?" April asked. Luna nodded and finished healing James' Pokémon.

"Yeah. This is just first aid, so you'll still want to go to the Pokémon center when we get to Vermillion, but we're ready to go." Luna said, smiling sweetly at April. James clipped the pokeballs to his belt.

"Alright, then let's go." He said. We nodded and followed as he, being impatient as he is, started walking.

POV CHANGE: Lugia

I watched Lucien as he sped across the sky on the back of Draco, his Dragonite. I shook my head and looked around, half expecting Suicune to be standing next to me, watching me. He wasn't, instead opting to go to the Kanto region to watch Mars. The Whirl Islands were quiet this time of year, making the roar of my waterfall even more prominent. I shook my head once more, switching my psychic connection to watch Mars as he walked alongside April.

"What to do with you..." I muttered, tossing out ideas. I probably was being a bit rough on the guy, but by Arceus, I was going to make sure he was worthy. I examined the Absol, the way he walked, the way he talked, the way he approached every situation. Even after taking his horn, he still managed to hold onto his pride and stay strong. He had thrown out those Rockets with ease, making them look like nothing more than a nuisance and protecting everyone. What was I missing? What could I test him on?

"Everyone's got that one flaw, that one situation that will drive them over the edge." I mused. "The question is, what's yours?" I forced any and all thoughts deep into the recesses of my brain, letting fresh thoughts and ideas flow. Let's review. I reached into my memories, recalling everything I knew about Mars. Suicune had been watching him ever since he entered the Johto region six years ago, and moved to the Kanto region two years ago. I had secretly watched him too, knowing that Suicune was interested in him. Even then, he'd been strong and willing to help anyone. He'd fought hordes of Scyther off of a pair of innocent Hoppip, defeated trainers who were abusing their Pokémon and forced them to release said Pokémon, and helped humans when they were being attacked by Pokémon, just as he did with both April and James.

He'd protected Burn and April both from Suicune's lackey Tyranitar, and had protected them yet again when the Rockets attacked them in Cerulean. He'd even successfully protected April in Saffron, and considered it a success even at the cost of his own horn. He'd been successful...Then it struck me; that one crucial detail that was almost impossible to overlook, but just as hard to see. He had never truly _failed. _He'd never found himself completely powerless to prevent something. I opened my eyes and began watching Mars again. That would be my final test for him. What would happen if he failed?

**Forgot about the whole reporter thing? Don't worry, I'll give you the chapter so you can go review. Chapter 14. Hope you enjoyed. **


	25. Chapter 25

**April's Team: Mars (Obvious); Burn (Charizard); Thunder (Electabuzz); Happy (Lombre); Sam (Riolu/Latios mix)**

**James' Team: Kirlia; Ninetails; Nidoqueen; Treeko; Corey (Mewvee)**

**Luna's Team: Ace (Blaziken); Shade (Lucario); Bravo (Gallade); Plus a new one (Read chapter=find out)**

**Lucien's Team: Soul (Lucario); Draco (Shiny Dragonite); Tia (Latias); Vesuvius (Typhlosion)**

* * *

POV: Lucien

_My world was turned upside down. Everything was shattered in an instant, everything I had dreamed of, everything I was going to achieve. All of it was gone with her, as I held her in my arms. The sun was shining, though it shouldn't have been. How could anything be happy with her gone? A smile still danced on her beautiful lips as she uttered the last words I would ever hear from her;_

_"I'm glad...I knew...you..." She whispered, closing her beautiful silver eyes. She let out one last breath, and her entire body relaxed, pressing down into my arms. _

_"No. No, you're going to be fine. Just...just stay awake. Please." I said. I could hear people and Pokémon crashing through the woods around me, but I didn't care. "No. Please. I'm begging you, stay with me. Don't leave me..." My voice broke, and tears began to fall. A hand grabbed me on the shoulder, whirling me around. I found myself staring into the face of a scientist. That sadistic scientist. I screamed in bloody rage, and the world erupted around me. _

"GRAAAAAAH!" I roared, sitting bolt upright and bringing my fist back, ready to swing. My heart thumped rapidly in my chest, my breath was short and ragged. A cold sweat had crept into my body, and my eyes scanned the room for any threats, only to find it empty. I was in a hotel. It was the night after I arrived in Vermillion. I cursed and put a hand to my face, relaxing my body. "Get out of there." I whispered, rubbing my temple with my other hand. The door to my room burst open, revealing Red and Green. Red looked ready to fight, while Green looked worried. They had been waiting in Vermillion for me, Red so he could speak to me about some things, Green to remind me of my appointment with that blasted reporter tomorrow.

Green's eyes landed on my body, uncovered by the sheets, and I looked down. Only my bare chest was showing, revealing my heavily scarred body. A tattoo ran along my left ribs, nothing too complicated, just a few random lines followed by a series of numbers. This was the first time anyone had seen my bare chest in forever; I wore long sleeves and dark clothes for a reason. Normally I slept with a shirt on too, but I must've somehow taken it off while I was asleep. April and James appeared in the doorway too, followed by a groggy looking Luna. They had arrived in Vermillion around 7 PM, four hours after I did, and were now resting up. Luna had been surprised to see me, while April and James greeted me with all the enthusiasm ten year olds could muster.

"What's going on?" Red asked, trying hard not to stare at my scars. I scowled and pulled the sheets over me, rolling over in bed so my back was facing them.

"Nothing. Nightmares. Go back to sleep before I put you to sleep." I grumbled, slamming my eyes shut. Red whispered something to the rest of them, and they started to leave.

"Hey! Mars, get out of there!" April called. I felt my mattress shift as Mars put his front legs on it. I rolled over, opening one eye to glare at him. His one good red eye tried to bore right into me, but failed against my steely gaze. I narrowed my eyes, and he nodded, as if to confirm something. He hopped down and walked back towards April, who was standing at the doorway, glaring at him. "You shouldn't bug him." She said as he walked past. He grunted, and April started to close the door, taking one more glance at me before it shut. I rolled back over and closed my eyes, knowing that I wouldn't get back to sleep. I lay there for about twenty minutes before there was a knock on my door. I sighed and sat up.

"It's Luna. Can I come in?" She asked, her voice muffled through the door. I sighed.

"Yeah. Just give me a minute." I said, getting out of bed. My black silk shirt lay at the foot of my bed, having been thrown there in my sleep. I grabbed it and slipped it on before walking over to the door and opening it. Luna stood there, nervously tossing a pokeball back and forth in her hands.

"Hey." She said, her eyes darting away when they met mine. I realized I still had my 'I'm pissed, leave me alone' face on, so I wiped it off, replacing it with a completely passive one. "I...uh...I need to talk to you about something." She said. _Agree. She's pretty worried. _Tia said in my head. **Tia, what's got you so talkative?...never mind. Fine. **I answered my own question, and nodded.

"Sure. Not here I assume?" I asked. She nodded, and I turned around, walking back to my bed to grab my belt full of pokeballs. I wrapped it around my waist and exited the room, leaving my black trench coat behind. We exited the hotel and walked to the outskirts of Vermillion city. She indicated that she wanted to go farther, so we did. We walked about a mile into the forest before she stopped.

"This is far enough." She said. _Hey, I want to say hi. I haven't seen her in a while. Is that ok? _Tia asked. I didn't say anything, and just let Tia out of her pokeball. Tia, or more precisely, Latias, smiled and flew circles around Luna, who giggled at Tia's antics.

"I haven't seen you in forever, Tia! Not since I helped you and Lucien save Latios from Team Aqua!" Luna said. Tia grinned and hovered next to me. I smiled and ran my hand along her neck, shaking my head.

"She said she wanted to say hi." I said. "Now what did you want to talk about?" I asked. Luna nodded and glanced at the pokeball in her left hand, the one she had been nervously tossing back and forth. _She's worried about Moltres. _Tia said. **Tia, what have I told you about reading other people's minds? Humans like privacy. **Tia frowned. _Yes, well, it's so much easier than sitting here in suspense. _Tia said, trying to justify herself. I shook my head and sighed.

"It's...well...uh...I've got a new member of my team since you last saw me...and..." Luna was having trouble putting her sentence together, so I made it easy for her.

"Yes. I know. Let him out so I can talk to him." I said. Luna looked at me in surprise.

"Wha-but, how...?" Luna stuttered.

"I make it a point to know all the happenings with legendaries. Let him out." I prompted. Luna nodded and tossed the pokeball, causing the great fire bird Pokémon to appear from it. Unlike the beautiful swirl of fire that would accompany Moltres' personality, all we got was Moltres, the fire bird's brilliant orange flame burning low. I smiled tiredly at him and put a hand on his beak. "Feelin' a bit under the weather?" I asked. Moltres blinked his brilliant orange eyes and nodded, bowing his head slightly.

"Yeah." He said. "Just feeling a bit old." I chuckled, shaking my head at the irony.

"Well you still seem pretty spry for someone five millennia old." I said. Moltres managed a small smile. "Don't get so down. Luna's worrying about you. And we can't have that, now can we?" I asked. Moltres nodded and looked at Luna, bowing his head. His flames burned a bit brighter now, proof that his mood had been lifted a little. I'm not a psychiatrist, so I can't really bring him all the way back up, but it was a start.

"I apologize for my poor behavior. I will be...ah...cheerier in the future." Moltres said. Luna smiled, not understanding what Moltres said, but realizing that he was a bit happier. _Poor guy. He's taking the transition pretty hard. _Tia said sadly. I glanced over at where she floated. **I noticed. What about you? You holding up? Sorry I haven't asked sooner. **I asked. She smiled at me and looked off into the woods. _You don't need to worry about me. I'm fine. Besides, it's you I'm worried about. I know that what Arceus told you has-_Tia frowned, narrowing her eyes at the trees. _Someone's coming. With murderous intent. _Tia said, and rushed over to me, tapping her pokeball. She dissappeared in a flash of red light. _Rockets. About twenty of them, and they're hunting Legendaries. Get Luna to recall Moltres. _Tia said.

"Luna, get Moltres back in his pokeball. We've got company." I said. Luna froze, staring at me, while Moltres acted, tapping the tip of his beak on his pokeball and recalling himself.

"Oh, so you noticed us. That's too bad, but it's of no consequence. We'll still be relieving you of your two legendary Pokémon." A voice said. I turned around, pulling a pokeball off of my belt and glaring at the scientist behind me. At least two dozen more Rockets appeared, each with their six Pokémon out.

"Oh, I highly doubt that." I said with a smile. "Because you've just made my day. Now I don't have to come find you. Vesuvius, let's take care of these fools." I threw out my pokeball, my Typhlosion erupting from it in a massive explosion of fire. The Rockets suddenly cringed in fear at my great Pokémon, who glared at the Rockets.

"Thalia, let's help them out!" Luna said. A beautiful Ninetails appeared in front of her, glaring at the Rockets. Vesuvius didn't waste any time in idle chit-chat, and instead demolished three fourths of the Rockets with a lava plume, the blazing flame washing over them like a sea of fire.

"You want to help? Alright, then take them out." I said, indicating the remaining Rockets. "I'm going to interrogate our friend the scientist here." I said, grinning at the scientist, who had avoided Vesuvius' attack by diving to the ground. Luna nodded, and she and Thalia turned to the remaining five Rockets. Vesuvius picked up the scientist and carried him over to me. I cracked my knuckles. "Alright, now, you're going to tell me where your base is, got that?" The scientist nodded vigorously. "Good. Glad we understand each other. Now..."

POV CHANGE: Mars

I yawned and stretched, looking around the inside of the Pokémon center. It was mostly bare, and much smaller than ether Saffron or Celadon's Pokémon center. The time said 7:00 in the morning, and the sun had just risen. James was sitting next to us, yawning and stretching, same as me. The door swung open, and in walked Lucien without his trademark trench coat. He was smiling, which surprised me after last night. Whatever happened had rattled him pretty well. Behind him walked Luna, who looked ready to collapse from exhaustion. Red yawned, one arm wrapped around Green.

"Have fun, Lucien?" He asked, a sly smile on his face. Lucien laughed and held up a memory stick.

"Oh yeah. Tons of fun. Went for a little walk, ran into a few Rockets, and then invaded their secret base. Got tons of info, and now I've actually got a reason to go on that cruise ship other than to just see that freaking reporter." Lucien said, still smiling. Luna walked right past him and headed back towards the beds. Red grinned.

"Awesome. Come with me, I want to hear about it." Red said, standing up.

"Oh, hey! I want to hear about it too!" Green said, sitting bolt upright. Lucien nodded and led the two of them out of the Pokémon center. On his way out, Lucien stopped to look at us.

"You two should challenge the gym here. The leader's called Lieutenant Surge, and is a user of electric type Pokémon." Lucien said, and walked out. April thought for a minute and then nodded.

"That sounds like a good idea. What do you say, James? Want to go challenge the gym?" April asked. James grinned and nodded.

"I'm always up for a battle. Let's go!" He shouted and bolted upright, dashing out the door. April stood up, following him with a small laugh.

"He's really impatient." She said. I grunted.

"What, you're just noticing?" I said. April grinned at me, and opened the door.

"I'm just saying." She said, and headed towards the gym. Electric, huh? Should be interesting. All the other gyms we've had at least one type advantage, but not this time. I chuckled. This would be a very interesting match.

POV CHANGE: Suicune

I silently listened to Lugia's plan, soaking in all the details. As much as I hated it, as much as I despised this kind of thing, he had a point. I closed my eyes and was silent, soaking in all the details. As much as I hated to admit it, it was a good plan.

"This all hinges on your cooperation, Suicune. I'm being nice here and telling you beforehand rather than just going ahead with it. If you don't cooperate, I'm going to have to find some other way to test him." Lugia said. I was silent for a minute, trying to force the words out of my mouth.

"Fine. I'll help you. But if something goes wrong, if it doesn't go _exactly _as planned, then it won't be me you'll be answering to." I let that hang in the air, and Lugia nodded.

"Don't worry, being the meticulous planner that I am, I've got it all under control." He said. "Now, about your role in this..."


	26. Chapter 26

**April's Team: Mars; Burn (Charizard); Thunder (Electabuzz); Happy (Lombre); Sam (Riolu/Latios)**

**James' Team: Gardevior (Evolves from Kirlia); Ninetails; Treeko; Nidoqueen; Corey (Mewvee)**

* * *

POV: Suicune

I watched the match between James and the Vermillion City gym leader, Lieutenant Surge, through a psychic connection Mew had made. Darkrai floated wordlessly next to me as we watched the match. Both James and Surge were down to their last Pokémon; James' Kirlia and Surge's Jolteon. Kirlia dodged a thunderbolt, and unleashed a dazzling gleam at Jolteon, who took it full force.

"He is a good trainer." I said. Darkrai grunted, nodding his head and staring at the match. Kirlia was struck with a devilishly fast quick attack, but slowly got to her feet as James yelled words of encouragement. Kirlia began to glow with the light of evolution, and I shook my head, smiling.

"Figures she'd evolve now." Darkrai said. I nodded, and watched as a Gardevior emerged from the light, firing a magical leaf at Jolteon and knocking him out cold. Surge laughed, and walked over to congratulate James, handing him a badge. April patted Mars on the head in the stands, standing up and walking down to the stands. I silently turned away from the match to stare at the city, where a large cruise ship was pulling in. I closed my eyes and shook my head. Insanity. Pure insanity. _I'm sorry you have to endure this, Mars. _

POV CHANGE: Mars

I glared at Lieutenant Surge, who stood across from us, casually tossing a pokeball up into the air. He wore camo pants and dog tags around his neck, proof of his service in the military. I'd heard that military Pokémon were extremely vicious and strong, having been hardened by years of incessant training. They rivaled even the most skilled wild Pokémon when it came to getting out of life and death scenarios. This promised to be an...interesting battle. He had switched out his Pokémon from last match, and was now fully fit to fight.

"You ready?" He said, his voice booming forcefully across the field. I lay down next to April, and watched at he tossed out his Pokémon, not waiting for an answer. A Magnezone appeared on the field, levitating off of the ground. April smiled and grabbed Burn's pokeball.

"Alright, Burn! Let's start this off with a flamethrower!" April called. Burn appeared out of his pokeball with a mighty roar, and unleashed a torrent of fire at Magnezone, who took it without moving. "Nice! Now use fire blast!"

"Lock on and then zap cannon." Surge said calmly. A red dot appeared on Burn before he prepared the fire blast, followed quickly by a large ball of electricity. It slammed into Burn right as he fired, causing the attack to rocket into the air and slam into the ceiling. Burn tumbled backwards, but managed to push himself to his feet, breathing hard. "Two can play at the super-effective game. Remember, your Charizard there is a dual Fire/Flying type, giving my Magnezone's electric type an advantage over him." Surge explained.

"Flamethrower!" April called.

"Again." Was all Surge said, and Magnezone started his attack again. The red dot appeared on Burn, who launched his attack. The two attacks collided midair, and exploded. "Mirror shot." Surge said. "Then lock on and zap cannon."

"Fire blast!" April called. The two attacks collided again, this time with Burn's fire blast prevailing over mirror shot and slamming into Magnezone, knocking him out. Nobody saw the crackling ball of electricity as it plunged towards Burn, slamming into him as Magnezone's final hit. Burn crashed to the ground, KO'd.

"Nothing like a little mutual destruction. So what's next, girl?" Surge asked, tossing out a pokeball. Out of it emerged an Electabuzz, who looked ready to fight. April tapped Thunder's pokeball with her index finger, and then nodded.

"Alright, then let's use you, Thunder!" April called, throwing him out. Surge's Electabuzz glared at Thunder, who returned the glare with a smile. "Use brick break!" April called. Thunder rushed forwards, only to be stopped by Electabuzz, who was also using brick break. The two clashed, and were sent stumbling backwards. "Keep using it!" April called.

"You too, Electabuzz." Surge called. Electabuzz and Thunder clashed once more, beating their forearms against each other. Thunder ducked under one of Electabuzz's strikes, and brought the brick break up in an uppercut type move. Electabuzz stumbled backwards, and Thunder flew forwards, beating Electabuzz with a barrage of blows. "Protect." Surge said. Electabuzz held out its arms, and Thunder's next strike slammed into a force field. Thunder cursed and leapt back, narrowly avoiding Electabuzz's brick break.

"Use thunderbolt!" April said.

"Counter it." Surge said. Both Thunder and Electabuzz unleashed thunderbolts that collided in the air, sending tendrils of electricity arcing across the field. The two attacks died, and Surge made a move. "Use thunderpunch." Surge said.

"Swift, and then use brick break!" April said. Thunder raised his hands at the oncoming Electabuzz, and fired the multiple glowing stars at him. They collided with Electabuzz, who stopped in his tracks, and Thunder launched himself forwards, scoring a direct hit on Electabuzz, who crumpled to the ground. A small smile played on Surges lips as he recalled Electabuzz. I narrowed my eyes. Electabuzz hadn't been showing any signs of fatigue, so why did he recall him? That final brick break shouldn't have knocked him out.

"Let's go, Electrode. Use charge beam." Surge said. The white and red ball appeared on the field, a charge beam already to fire. Thunder took the blast head on, and was sent tumbling backwards. "Now use sonicboom." Surge said. Electrode screeched, and fired at Thunder, hitting him once more.

"Use brick break!" April called. Thunder rushed forwards, and slammed his fist into Electrode, who promptly knocked him back with another sonicboom followed by a charge beam. Thunder struggled to push himself to his feet, and Electrode rolled forwards.

"Use charge beam." Surge said. Electrode stopped right in front of Thunder, who was standing on one knee, and charged its attack.

"Brick break!" April called. Thunder slammed his fist into Electrode right as Electrode fired. The two attacks sent each other rolling backwards, but this time, Thunder didn't get up. Electrode grinned, showing only slight signs of fatigue. I sighed and started to get to my feet. Looks like I'm up. "Go, Happy!" April called, throwing out Happy. I looked at her in surprise, sighed, and lay back down, turning my attention towards the match. It lasted a total of five seconds. "Happy, use nature power!" April called. Surge smirked and nodded at Electrode.

"Explosion." He said. Electrode grinned maliciously, as if he got some kind of sick pleasure out of exploding, and began to glow in a white light.

"Jump back, Happy!" April called. Happy was charging her nature power, and couldn't move as a result. She took the explosion full force, sending her flying backwards and forcing me to avert my eyes as debris flew across the stadium. When I returned my gaze, there was nothing more than a slight indent in the ground, with Electrode in the middle, and an unconscious Happy laying at April's feet. April recalled Happy with a frown, glaring at Surge as he recalled Electrode.

"What's that glare for?" He asked, clipping Electrode's pokeball to his belt.

"That was a cheap shot." April said. Surge let out a booming laugh, and shook his head.

"Well, I thought I'd make it even for you going into the final round. Send out your best Pokémon, because here comes mine. Come on out, Riachu!" Surge said, throwing out his final Pokémon. The orange mouse locked eyes with me and grinned. A silent understanding passed between us, and I knew that this was going to be a fun fight. It was obvious Riachu had seen some real action, unlike some of the other gym leader's Pokémon.

"Alright. Mars, you're up." April said. I nodded and walked out to the middle of the arena, standing directly in front of Raichu.

"Woah, wait, what? You're actually using him? Sorry, but I can't fight cripples. Send out another Pokémon." Surge said. I gritted my teeth, and Raichu grinned at me.

"Think you'll be able to stand up to me, cripple?" He taunted. I grinned viciously.

"I'll crush you." I said, cracking my neck.

"But...but...he's the only Pokémon I've got left that I can use!" April shouted. She was right, though. Sam was too young to battle. Raichu tensed and got ready to fight me.

"Sorry, but I'm not going to fight an injured Pokémon. You can have the badge. Raichu, return." Surge said. Obviously, the two of them weren't on the same wavelength, because Raichu dodged the red beam and launched himself at me with amazing speed. I barely had time to step out of the way as his mega punch slammed into the ground next to me. I spun, swinging an iron tail at him, only to have him push himself up off of the ground and go flipping towards my head. I ducked as he slapped his tail at me and charged a shadow claw. He wouldn't be able to dodge midair. I struck as he was about to hit the ground, only to have my strike blocked by Raichu's iron tail.

"Huh. You're not half bad for a cripple." Raichu said. I shut him up by firing an ice beam, only to have him dodge out of the way. I cursed and watched as he flipped back to his side of the arena, showing how fast and agile he was. I mentally assessed the situation. _He's got speed on me, so I should sit back and let him come to me. He may be fast, but my reaction time is just as fast, though I wouldn't hold a candle to him if it came to running. Counter the electric attacks with long range moves, and keep him from hitting me. That's the plan._

"Looks like Raichu's got a different idea than I do. Alright then, let's let them duke it out. I haven't seen Raichu this pumped for a fight in ages. How's about we don't yell out any commands, huh? Let them fight on their own." Surge said with a grin. I glanced back at April and nodded.

"Alright. Let's-Mars! Watch out!" April yelled. I didn't even turn my head, just leapt to the side as Raichu's iron tail slammed into the ground.

"Eyes on your enemy." Raichu said, still grinning. I snarled and charged an ice beam, firing it at Raichu, who continued his forward momentum and somersaulted out of the way. I raced forwards, striking at him with a shadow claw, only to have him block it with another iron tail. He grinned and began to crackle with electricity. "Too close." He said, and let loose a shockwave of yellow electricity.

"Crap." I muttered, feeling it arc through my body. I growled and charged a razor wind, firing it at Raichu and scoring a direct hit. He was sent tumbling backwards, but picked himself up with a grin.

"Hey, you're tough. I didn't expect you to be moving so soon after I hit you with that discharge." Raichu said. I grinned.

"Yeah? I got hit with an Ampharos' thunder before, so that's probably why. That was pitifully weak comparatively speaking." I said. Raichu laughed and prepared himself again, charging a mega punch. I grinned back and lowered myself closer to the ground.

"Man, that's harsh. I beat an Ampharos before. Now I'm going to have to hit you for that." Raichu said, and launched himself forwards. I prepared two shadow claws, and launched myself forwards, swinging one paw at Raichu, and using the second to counter his mega punch. Just as I was about to connect, he spun, leaping into the air and putting one hand on my paw, pushing it to the ground and completely avoiding my attack. He gave me a mischievous grin and brought his mega punch straight into my side, slamming me into the ground. He leapt off of me, and turned to Surge.

"It's over. Get your Absol back." Surge said. Raichu just grinned and looked at me, turning around after he had retreated a few steps.

"Come on, man, that can't be all you got." He said. I groaned and pushed myself off of the ground, glaring at Raichu.

"You're going to pay for that." I said with a groan. I silently cursed myself for forgetting about his speed. _Crud. I can't let him get close now, either. Or can I...? _Raichu launched himself forwards, and I braced myself, charging a razor wind. Yep. This one was explosive. Raichu flashed forwards, vaulting over me to dodge the razor wind, and landed behind me. He leapt forwards, and I turned my head slightly, loosing the razor wind. BOOM. It blew up, sending me tumbling backwards into Raichu, who was also caught in the blast. I caught myself quickly, having been prepared for it, whereas Raichu was still trying to figure out what the heck just happened. All it took was one ice beam, and I froze Raichu solid. I grinned and walked over to him, freeing him with an iron tail. Surge whistled, walking up to Raichu.

"Man, that'll wake you up in the morning. Nobody saw that coming. Dang. I have to hand it to you, your Absol there is one tough Pokémon." Surge said, shaking April's hand and recalling Raichu, who grinned at me, shaking his head. "Well, a loss is a loss, even if I did take it easy on you in the beginning. I probably underestimated you. So, here's your badge as recognition for you win." Surge said. April paused holding the badge in her hand.

"What do you mean 'took it easy?'" She asked. Surge laughed.

"Kid, it's a gym leader's job to test trainers and get them to improve, not to beat every single one that comes to them. If I was going all out the entire time, you would've lost, to be blunt. But, hey, you deserve that badge. You've got what it takes to go far." He said, and walked towards his side of the gym. "Now get going, I've got some training to do." April glanced at me, grinned, and headed towards the door. I slowly followed, still feeling the damage I'd taken from the battle.

"That was epic, April! Mars was awesome how he blew Raichu up!" James said, running up to April. She smiled and scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Thanks. But we'd better get out Pokémon to the Pokémon center." She said. James blinked, and then nodded, as if realizing this for the first time.

"Oh, yeah. Right. That's probably a good idea." He said, and we walked out of the gym. Lucien, Red, and Green were waiting outside for us.

"Hey, how'd it go?!" Green asked, practically jumping up and down. Was she always so hyper? James grinned.

"We won, obviously. We're headed towards the Pokémon center now so we can heal our Pokémon." James said. Lucien nodded, and approached us.

"Alright, sounds like a plan. Anyways, I would like for you to come on a cruise with me. It heads towards the Sevii islands, where the gym leader Blaine was relocated to two years ago, but takes a detour around towards Hoenn and such. What do you say? There will be a ton of trainers on board and a few contest type thingys." Lucien said, holding out two S.S. tickets. April took one, and James took the other.

"Sure, we'll go. I didn't know that there was a gym on the Sevii islands." April said. "I thought Blaine was at the Seafoam islands."

"Yeah, there's a gym at both locations now. A new guy took over at the Seafoam islands, and Blaine moved to the Sevii Islands. The boat leaves at 8:00, and they start boarding around 6:00. I'll meet you there around 6:00." Lucien said.

"Sorry, but neither I nor Green will be joining you on that cruise. We've got other stuff to do. I'll be seeing you two later." Red said, and grabbed Green by the arm, leading her away before she could say anything. Lucien shook his head, watching them go.

"Alright, well, go get your Pokémon healed. I'll be waiting for you on the pier." Lucien said, and walked off, heading towards the large cruise ship in the harbor. April looked at James, and shrugged.

"Let's head to the Pokémon center." She said, and started walking. James nodded and followed, with me close behind. A cruise ship in the open ocean...I shook my head. Never done that before.


	27. Chapter 27

**April's Team: Mars; Burn (Charizard); Thunder (Electabuzz); Happy (Lombre); Sam (Riolu/Latios)**

**James' Team: Gardevior; Ninetails; Treeko; Nidoqueen; Corey (Mewvee)**

**Lucien's Team: Soul (Lucario); Vesuvius (Typhlosion); Tia (Latias); Draco (Shiny Dragonite)**

* * *

POV: Mars

We hurriedly ran up to Lucien, who was calmly sitting on the pier, his legs dangling over the edge while Soul sat next to him. Luna ran next to us (us being me, April, and James), and we stopped next to him, April and James leaning over breathlessly.

"We made it, it's exactly 6:00." Luna said. Lucien looked at his watch and grunted, slowly standing up.

"No, it's actually only 5:58. You're early, but I guess I can forgive you." Lucien said. At our blank looks, Lucien continued. "I'm joking. You know...aw, never mind. Let's get going." He said, shaking his head and walking up the pier. "Hey, Luna, do you have a cruise ticket?" He asked over his shoulder. Luna stopped in her tracks, and cursed herself.

"No." She muttered. Lucien shrugged.

"Oh, well that's ok. I've got an extra ticket here for you." He said, and handed her a ticket.

"Thanks." Luna said, taking it from him. He grunted, as if to say 'you're welcome,' and continued walking towards the ship. We followed, and April handed the single sailor guarding the entrance her ticket, allowing her inside. I followed close behind her, looking around nervously as the surroundings. The fact that this giant hunk of metal actually floats was impressive all in itself.

"Can I help you with anything?" A man in a fancy suit asked Lucien as we walked by.

"Yeah. Where are our rooms?" Lucien asked, showing the man his ticket. The man studied it for a second and then nodded.

"Ah, yes. The first class rooms are down the hall and to the left. Your room is number 28D. Enjoy your stay." The man said. Lucien nodded and led us to the room. He opened the door, and revealed a large suite, with a living room, kitchen, and four other doors along the wall. April dashed into the room, grinning and looking around.

"This is our room? It's huge!" She said. James ran in and headed straight for one of the doors. He opened one and grinned.

"It's a bedroom! It's huge, it's even got its own TV in it! This is awesome!" He exclaimed. I sat down next to April, looking around the room. Lucien was looking in the fridge, while Luna was examining one of the rooms. She walked it, and tossed her stuff on the large bed. April sat down on the couch and grabbed a note that sat on the table.

"Hey, Lucien, there's a note here for you." April said. Lucien looked up, holding a can of soda in one hand and a sandwich in between his teeth. "It says it's from...Anna?" Lucien put down the soda and walked over to us, chewing on the sandwich.

"Hmm." He muttered, taking the note from April. He opened it and examined the contents.

"Oh, it's just from the reporter. It says 'meet me in the main room at nine o'clock. Wear formal attire.' Huh." Lucien said, flipping the note over. "That's it. So I meet her an hour after the boat leaves port. That gives me three hours to do whatever I want." He said, and turned his attention to April, his eyes lighting up. "Now, I heard that your egg hatched not too long ago. May I see him?" He asked.

"Sure. Sam, come on out." April said, and tossed out Sam's pokeball. The little Riolu with jet wings appeared floating in mid-air, and grinned at Lucien, who just frowned.

"Now, now. Don't be going around reading people's minds. It's not polite." Lucien said. Sam frowned, and shook his head.

"Right. Sorry." He mumbled, and Lucien shook his head, rubbing his temples. Sam floated down and sat in April's lap, who started to rub his head.

"So, you're a Riolu/Latios mix. Interesting. I bet Tia would like to meet you." Lucien said, and grabbed one of his pokeballs. He tossed it out, and out came Latias, the legendary red Pokémon smiling sweetly at Sam. My jaw dropped open at the sight of her. Lucien had caught a legendary Pokémon? Just who was this guy? I glanced over at Sam, who had wriggled out of April's grasp and was staring open mouthed at Latias.

"Hello there. My name is Latias, though Lucien calls me Tia. It's a pleasure to meet you." Latias said. Sam opened and closed his mouth, attempting to get words out.

"Uh...you're beautiful." He muttered, looking down at the ground. Tia just smiled at the comment.

"Why thank you! You look an awful lot like my brother, Latios. I'm sure he's anxious to see you." Latias said. Sam muttered something, looking at his feet.

"Hey, no! Corey, get back here!" James called. The flying rat of a Pokémon zoomed across the room and tackled Sam, whether on purpose or accident, I don't know, because Corey promptly got back up and went to flying around the room again.

"That's it!" Sam said, laughing, and began to chase Corey around the room. Lucien just sighed and recalled Tia.

"Lively, isn't he." He said, watching the two wreak havoc across the room, knocking over whatever they could. April didn't answer, as she was too busy chasing down Sam. Lucien shook his head as April leapt over the couch, trying to grab Sam. "You know...you could just recall him." Lucien said. April stopped running and looked at him sheepishly.

"Right. Sorry." She said, and recalled Sam in midflight. Corey continued flying, giggling uncontrollably. There was a flash of red light, and Corey disappeared inside of her pokeball. "So what do we do now?" April asked. Lucien shrugged and sat down onto the couch, popping his soda.

"Don't know, don't care. Just be back here by 8:30, I might need your help with the interview." He said, turning on the giant plasma TV. A news anchor was talking about how a Rocket hideout had been destroyed in Vermillion. They still didn't know the cause, but Lucien chuckled. "Hey, look. They're talking about us, Luna." He said, leaning forwards. Luna walked out of the room she had claimed, and looked at the TV screen.

"Oh, cool." She said, and sat down next to Lucien, watching the news.

"Uh, why would you need our help?" April asked tentatively.

"Oh, no reason. Just thinking about revealing Sam and Corey to her. Might help with taking down Team Rocket." Lucien said, and stood up, stretching. "If you want to go anywhere, take your tickets with you. Since you're first class, most of the food and stuff will be free, but you still have to pay for souvenirs. Just show them your ticket, and the rest will take care of itself. Got it?" Lucien asked. April and James nodded, and April looked at me.

"Then do you mind if we go explore the ship?" She asked. I grunted and stood up, walking over to her.

"Sure, I don't care. You don't need to ask me permission." Lucien said absently. April smiled and headed towards the door.

"C'mon Mars, let's got explore. James, you coming?" April asked. James shook his head, watching the TV.

"No, I'm going to stay here for a bit." He said. "I'll catch up to you later." April nodded, and we walked out of the door. We wandered around a bit, visiting random shops that were inside of the massive vessel, until we finally made it out onto the roof. It was still an hour until we were supposed to leave, but that didn't stop some people from already being aboard, much like ourselves. April walked over to the edge, and grinned, leaning over the railing and peering at the water far below.

"I've never been on a boat before. It's pretty exciting, isn't it, Mars?" She asked, looking down at me. I shrugged, and looked over the edge.

"You'll have to excuse me if I don't jump for joy. We'll be stuck on a floating metal container in the middle of the ocean. What could possibly go wrong?" I muttered. April laughed and shook her head.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine." She said. I shook my head.

"Whatever." I muttered, and continued to stare at the water. It was insanely calm. We were on the side of the boat pointing towards the ocean, and also where the sun was beginning to set. The rays of light were just beginning to light the ocean on fire, igniting it in a brilliant array of orange and red. April shook her head and turned around, leaning against the railing.

"Is that your Absol?" A voice asked. I turned around, and looked at the woman approaching us. She smiled at April, while the Absol next to sneered at me. She had short black hair, with large diamond earrings jingling with every step. It was a wonder her ears didn't fall off the earrings were so large. She walked in high heeled shoes, and had a black dress on. She knelt in front of me, and I bit back bile. The amount of perfume she was wearing was absolutely repulsive. How humans wear that stuff, I'll never know.

"Uh...yes. He is." April said. The woman reached out to touch me, and I leaned away, refraining from growling. "I'd be careful, he doesn't like people very much." April warned. The woman made a _tsk _noise, and glared up at her.

"I'd think so, after the amount of abuse he suffered. Did you do that to his face and horn? You monster. You should be ashamed of yourself. C'mere sweety, I'll take care of you." The woman said, reaching out to touch me. I let out a low growl, the most dangerous one I could muster. She'd insulted April, and by Arceus, I would not let that stand. The woman recoiled her hand, and April put a hand on my head, looking at the ground and kicking her feet.

"I didn't do that. Team Rocket did." April said. The other Absol shot me a look that said 'Don't growl at my trainer,' which I promptly returned with a death glare that said 'try and stop me.' The woman looked at me, and sighed, shaking her head.

"Really? Well maybe you should take better care of your Pokémon. It doesn't matter who did it, it's the trainer's fault if she's incompetent." The woman said, crossing her arms. "You should hand him over to an expert, like me. I'll take much better care of him than you." She sneered. I stepped forwards, placing myself between the woman and April.

"Back off, wench. April is my trainer. I chose to travel with her, and by Arceus, I'm going to stay with her. Do you understand?" I snapped. The other Absol stepped in front of me, growling back. He was young, maybe five or six.

"Back off, bud. Or do you want me to beat you to a pulp?" He snarled. I laughed, and shook my head.

"You're funny. I'll mop the floor with you before you can launch an attack." I snarled.

"Ab, back off. Now, little girl, I propose we trade. I'm an Absol trainer, and thus could make your...Mars, was it? Much stronger than you ever could." The woman said. The Absol, Ab, backed off, and I snorted. What an unoriginal name.

"No. He's my Pokémon, and I wouldn't trade him for anything. I don't care if you're the champion, I 'm not going to give Mars to you." April said. The woman's eyes flared, and she took a step forwards.

"How about we battle for him? If, and when, I win, I'll be taking that Absol off of your hands. Deal?" The woman said.

"Accept. I'll mop the floor with her Pokémon. She's really pissing me off." I snarled. April scratched my head, and smiled down at me.

"Alright. We accept." April said. "Let's go to the battle arena." The woman snorted and whirled, heading towards the arena that was in the middle of the platform. I leapt into the arena, and April stood behind me. Ab walked out to stand in front of me, and the woman laughed.

"I've got four Absol on my team, each one of which is undoubtedly stronger than any Pokémon you have, squirt." The woman snapped. "Like I said, I'm an Absol trainer, which means I know their weaknesses and strengths inside and out. There is no possibility of victory for you."

"Ready?" April asked, ignoring her taunts. The woman sneered and nodded. "Then go." April said. A few people pointed towards us and began to ring the arena.

"Ab, use pursuit!" The woman yelled. Ab raced right towards me, and I sighed.

"Iron tail." April said calmly. I sidestepped, dodging Ab's attack, and whirled, slamming my tail into Ab's face. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

"Hmph. I thought you were going to mop the floor with me." I snarled. The woman stared at me, open mouthed, and I grinned viciously. "Well? Recall him. I'm waiting." I said. The woman recalled Ab, and glared at April.

"Lucky shot." She snapped. April smiled and shook her head.

"No, Mars is just that amazing." She said.

"It's true." I said with a shrug. The woman let out another Absol, who sneered at me. This one was even younger than Ab, much less experienced too, but looked about three times as cocky.

"Aren't you the ugly one? What kind of an Absol doesn't have a horn?" She sneered. I growled. I was going to enjoy beating some humility into her.

"Thunderbolt!" The woman yelled.

"Razor wind." April said calmly. I loosed my attack perfectly, thanking Arceus that it didn't blow up in my face. The attack cut right through Absol's thunderbolt, scoring a direct hit and knocking her out too. "Was that luck too?" April asked.

"Yes." The woman snapped, letting out yet another Absol. This one was about the same age as Ab, and looked weaker. "Sol, use slash!" The Absol leapt forwards, and I sighed. Another one hit KO, coming up.

"Ice beam." April said. I fired the attack, freezing Sol in his tracks, and I sighed. This was boring. I was hoping for a fight that would match how much I hated that woman for insulting both me and April, but so far, it was a letdown. The woman looked at me open mouthed, and then laughed.

"Oh, I can't wait until I get my hands on you, Mars. You're so strong! But unfortunately for you, I've got an Absol who's stronger, on a whole different level than the rest of my team. I caught her two weeks ago in Johto after she had been severely weakened fighting a Tyranitar that was attacking a puny Cyndaquil." The woman said, taking a pokeball off of her belt. My ears pricked at that. That sounded eerily familiar. "Rose, you're up!" The Absol that appeared on the field was beautiful, with a glossy white coat and a shining black horn. Her eyes gleamed dangerously as they glared at me, but also held a hint of fear. She glanced back at her trainer, who glared at her.

"Why should I fight this guy? I don't even like you, so I shouldn't fight your battles for you. Besides, he's a cripple." Rose said. The woman raised her hand, and Rose flinched, turning back towards me. I narrowed my eyes.

"You will fight him. Now, use flamethrower." The woman said.

"Sorry. I guess I have to fight if I want to avoid..." Rose started to say, and then fired a flamethrower at me.

"Razor wind!" April called. I loosed the attack, which thankfully worked, and stopped the flamethrower in its tracks. Neither attack got through, and I growled.

"If you want to avoid what?" I snarled. I had an idea, but I wanted to hear it from her. Rose shook her head.

"She'll beat me." Rose said. I looked back at April.

"April, make a condition. If we win, she'll release Rose. She's abusing her, and seeing as we haven't made a condition yet, I figure it's the perfect time to do so." I said, and looked back at Rose, who looked at me in shock. "Is that alright with you?" Rose nodded, dumbly, and April spoke up, cutting the woman off from calling her next attack.

"I want to make a condition for if I win. If I win, you'll release Rose." April said. The woman glared at her.

"Why would I do that?" She snapped. April shrugged.

"Well, because we haven't made a condition for it yet. She's supposed to be your trump card, right? So what's the problem if she beats the rest of my Pokémon? Besides, if you win, you'll be getting Mars, right?" April said. The woman snorted.

"Fine. Rose, use night slash!" The woman called. Rose ran forwards, running much slower than she could have, and charged a night slash.

"Mars, use iron tail." April called. I whirled, ducking under Rose's halfhearted night slash, and hit her in the side. It wasn't full force, but was enough to send her tumbling across the arena. Rose didn't get up, and winked at me. The woman's mouth dropped open, and April smiled. "Looks like it's over. Will you uphold your end of the deal?" April asked. The woman glared at Rose, and shook her head.

"No, I-" She was cut off by another voice booming across the deck.

"Actually, you will." Lucien said, walking up to her. "You see, April isn't the stupid little girl you think she is. Everyone here saw the way your Absol flinched when you lifted your hand. You've been beating her. And, if you don't want me to send you to jail, you will release that Absol. I'll let you keep your other three, because you weren't abusive towards them, but if you are ever abusive to a Pokémon again, I will not hesitate to send you to jail. And don't think that I can't." He said, flashing her his International Police badge at her. The woman's mouth dropped once more, and she stuttered.

"I-I'm sorry. I-I'll get right to it." She said, and held out Rose's pokeball. A blue light surrounded Rose, releasing her, and she promptly stood up, shaking herself off.

"Thanks. I owe you one." Rose said, looking at me, and running off through the crowd. The woman turned and fled also, running to a different door than the one Rose took to get off the boat. Lucien chuckled and walked up to April, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Nice work, kid. I come to check on you, and find that you're mopping the floor with a sick person like that. Now that was a sight to see. I'll see you later then." Lucien said, and walked off. A few other people came up and congratulated April, while the rest of the crowd dispersed. April beamed down at me.

"You're amazing, Mars." She said. I shrugged.

"Yeah, I know. Can we get something to eat? I'm starving." I said. April nodded, and we headed below deck. _I hope the food's good. _I mused. _It'd better be. _


	28. Chapter 28

**April's Team: Mars; Burn (Charizard); Thunder (Electabuzz); Happy (Lombre); Sam (Riolu/Latios)**

**James' Team: Gardevior; Nidoqueen; Ninetails; Treeko; Corey (Mewvee)**

**Lucien's Team: Soul (Lucario); Vesuvius (Typhlosion); Tia (Latias); Draco (Shiny Dragonite)**

**Luna's Team: Ace (Blaziken); Shade (Lucario); Bravo (Gallade); Moltres; Bumble (Pichu); Thalia (Ninetails)**

* * *

**Well, here goes. This chapter is basically a bunch of background stuff for Lucien that I thought was necessary. Don't worry, there's bigger plot points at the end. It's a bit longer than normal, but bear with me here. Enjoy.**

POV: Luna

I sat in front of the TV, watching the news while Bumble, my little Pichu, sat curled up in my lap. A few sparks flew from his cheeks as he dreamt. I smiled and scratched him behind the ears. He twitched, and then curled into a tighter ball, causing my smile to grow wider.

"How do I look?" Lucien asked, walking out of the bathroom. He had ditched his normal black clothes and instead had on a brown sports jacket and bowtie, with brown pants. I shrugged, and looked back at the TV.

"You look weird with those clothes on." I said. "They don't suit you."

"I feel like a monkey." He muttered. "But you know, it said to dress formally. I felt obligated to buy this." He said. I looked back at him, and shook my head. Bumble twitched, and another set of sparks flew from his cheeks.

"You look fine. Why the bowtie?" I asked. Lucien shrugged and straightened his bowtie.

"Bowties are cool. Now if only I had a fez..." He mused.

"A what?" I asked, unsure of what a fez was. He shook his head and laughed.

"Never mind. What time is it? 8:30? Those two should be here by now." Lucien said, anxiously looking at the clock.

"So, you'll run headfirst into a building full of vicious criminals, be the first inside of a burning building, or even threaten a legendary Pokémon, but in front of a reporter you lose your cool?" I said, a small smile dancing on my lips. Lucien looked at me and shrugged.

"That's because there, the answer is simple. Fighting is simple. But talking, especially to a reporter, is hard. With reporters, everything you say can be twisted against you, to turn you into the bad guy even though you did run in the burning building and save lives. Reporters are nasty and mean, and never really do their research thoroughly. At least, in my experience they don't. Maybe because I run all the rest off. Does that answer your question for you?" Lucien asked. I shrugged and turned back to the TV again, where a contest in Sinnoh's Jubilife City was being broadcasted. The door clicked open, and in walked April and James, Mars close behind and looking very proud of himself. Lucien glanced at them, and then went back to picking something out of the fridge.

"Glad you could make it. Get changed, get into something nice-ish. If you need clothes, just ask me and I'll get some for you." Lucien said. April nodded.

"I've got a dress I can wear." She said. James shrugged.

"Yeah, no. I didn't pack anything nice when I left on my journey." James said. Lucien nodded, and stood up, glancing at me.

"Don't think you're out of this, too, Luna. You're coming along to keep an eye on these two." He said. "And don't give me the excuse 'I don't have anything nice to wear.' You're a coordinator, you've always got something nice to wear." He said, and turned to James. "I've got something for you. Figured you wouldn't have anything to wear. Neither did I, so don't feel bad." He said. I sighed and stood up, cradling the sleeping Bumble in my arms.

"Well, looks like we've got to make an appearance, huh?" I asked him, scratching him behind the ear. "Then let's get ready."

POV CHANGE: Anna

I tapped a pencil on my notebook, looking around nervously at the ball room. A few people were milling about, all wearing fancy clothes and such. The only reason I'd gotten first class was because I could sucker my publisher out of the money. I was a famous reporter, after all, having done an interview with N and Black. I wore a long black dress and high heels, which were incredibly uncomfortable, and had my hair done up. Why I had felt the need to dress up, I wasn't sure. The guy was supposed to be some sort of macho-man, I almost wanted to envision him as a lumberjack with a large beard and beefy arms that could crush a man in one blow. But from all the accounts I've gotten, he wasn't like that. I ran over my notes one more time, just out of habit, because I'd memorized them long ago, and checked my watch. 8:55.

"Think he'll show?" I muttered, glancing at the empty table I had gotten. It was in the corner of the room, the most secluded spot I could get in the middle of the ball. I glanced around nervously, and then shook my head. "Calm thyself, Anna. You're better than this. It's not even nine yet. " I chided myself, and looked around again. A group of people were just entering the area, and I sighed, not spotting the trench coat that everyone had described him as wearing. Sure, I had told him to dress formally, but I didn't expect him to actually do it. I looked back down at my notes, and ran through them again. Maybe I should've gone to check his room beforehand...

"Ma'am?" A waiter said, walking up to me. A man in a brown sports jacket and bowtie stood behind him. "Are you Miss Anna Wendholt?" I nodded, tapping my notepad in annoyance.

"Yes. What is it? I'm expecting someone." I said. The man behind him stepped forwards, and grinned. His smile was wide and seemed genuine.

"Yeah, that'd be me. Name's Lucien, as I'm sure you already know." He said, sitting in the chair across from me. He didn't even bother to extend his hand in greeting. "Thanks, Dave." He said to the waiter. The waiter nodded and walked off, heading towards the two kids and young woman in a purple dress that were watching us. I looked back at the man sitting across from me, Lucien, the man I had been trying to track down for my entire reporting career. Only a few months ago had my publisher decided that it would be a good article to run, so he allowed me to really chase him down.

"So, you're Lucien?" I asked. He nodded. "You're...not quite what I expected." I said, looking at his messy black hair. His face, despite him being younger than me, looked much more weathered. His eyes gleamed with a mix of emotions, saying that he'd seen some wonderful and dreadful things at the same time. The way he sat was relaxed, but beneath that calm exterior, I could tell that he was ready to move at a moment's notice. _Color me impressed. I'm rather attractive, if I do say so myself, and yet his eyes haven't left my face for an instant. _**Well, you must be pretty conceited if you think that. **_Thanks for the confidence boost-_I cut my train of thought off, realizing that it wasn't me who had said I was conceited. I furrowed my brows, and Lucien sighed.

"Sorry, Tia has a nasty habit or reading people's minds. I assume that's what's got you confused?" He asked. I glared at him, and he shrugged. "I've tried to talk to her, but she just refuses to stop. And what were you expecting? Clint Eastwood? Bruce Willis?" He asked, and I had to stop myself from smiling.

"No, sorry." I said, and tapped my notebook with my fingers nervously. Lucien noticed the action and sighed.

"I assume you want to get started, then?" He asked. I nodded, and he leaned back in his chair, causing it to creak. "Then shoot. What do you want to know?" I smiled sweetly.

"Tell me about yourself. Who, exactly, are you, Lucien?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I'm an International Police agent, born and raised-" He began. I cut him off.

"Born and raised in Mahogany Town in the Johto region, son of Ryan Cord and Debra Cord. At the age of merely fifteen, the International Police agency announced you a full fledged member, and you've been roaming the Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, Hoenn, Unova, and Kalos regions ever since. At age ten, a mere two weeks after you started the traditional Pokémon journey at the age of ten, you disappeared for four years, and was presumed dead. At age fourteen, you defeated Team Rocket in the Kanto region with the aid of Red. At fifteen, you aided Pearl and Diamond to defeat Team Galactic in the Sinnoh region. At sixteen, you once again defeated Team Rocket, this time in the Johto region with the aid of Gold and Silver. At seventeen, you defeated Team Plasma with the aid of Black and White. At eighteen, you defeated Team Flare with the aid of Calem and Serena, otherwise known as X and Y, and the trainer Yen. At nineteen, you defeated Team Plasma for the second time with the aid of Nate and Rose, and six months ago, you defeated both Team Aqua and Magma with the aid of Sapphire, Ruby, and Luna, the latter of which is sitting right there, tending the two children who are undoubtedly helping you to defeat Team Rocket for the third, and hopefully final, time. I know your life story, Lucien. Tell me who _you _are." I said, listing the facts from the top of my head. Lucien frowned at me.

"Well...you certainly are in a different class than the other reporters I've run into. Most only have snippets. Like, helping Pearl. Or helping Gold. What's gotten you so interested in me?" He asked. I smiled and shook my head.

"I remember you from four years ago, when you defeated Team Rocket in Goldenrod City. I was eighteen at the time, and distinctly remember there being someone else with Gold and Silver. It didn't take much digging to find that you've been a key player in the downfall of ever crime organization in recent years. I'm surprised no one else has noticed." I said with a smirk. Lucien leaned forwards.

"There has, but I drove them off. What do you know about my four year disappearance." The way Lucien said it, it wasn't a question but more of a demand. His eyes burned with both curiosity and fury. I smiled and shrugged.

"Not much. You started off from Mahogany Town with a Mareep that you had raised since you were young. Then you disappeared for four years after visiting the Ilex Forest near Azalea Town. After four years, you reappeared near Pallet Town with a Riolu. I can only assume that it has something to do with Team Rocket, as you all but declared war on them after reappearing." I said. Lucien nodded, and leaned back in his chair.

"Hmph. At least you deduced that much. What kind of story are you running, anyways? You have all the information you need to run a story on me. Why keep asking these questions?" He asked, leaning forwards. I drummed my fingers on the table and shrugged.

"You intrigue me. To run a good story, I need all the details. I need to understand what you went through, as well as how other people perceive you. Especially with the story about you. You have influenced the world more than you know. You have traveled with the current champions of six regions, and even trained them to be the astounding trainers they are today, and yet no one knows your name." I said. Lucien nodded, and then sighed.

"Yeah, but I like it that way. No one bothers me, no one watches me. I can just...do what I want. Fine. You want to know my story, here it is." Lucien leaned forwards, and stared at me, clasping his hands in front of his face. I raised an eyebrow.

"Well?" I asked. He watched me for a minute, and then nodded.

"Alright, here it is. When I reached the Ilex forest, I already had four badges, and only three Pokémon. They were my Mareep, a Teddiursa, and a Sneasel. It was there, in the Ilex forest, that I met Team Rocket for the first time. There were twenty of them, each with three Pokémon, and looking for Pokémon to capture. After a long battle, I finally beat them. My Pokémon were tired, but I had beaten all of them. Then _he _appeared. He called himself Namuba, and was a scientist from the Sinnoh region come to Johto. His Pokémon were unlike anything I had ever seen, the fruits of a type of illegal drug much like steroids that increase a Pokémon's power exponentially. Namuba decimated my team without me landing a single hit. But he didn't stop at just humiliating me, he took my Pokémon, and even had me tied up and taken to their hideout in the Ruins of Alph." Lucien paused, and shook his head. "It was...a nightmare." Lucien took a deep breath and looked out over the crowd of people. "See all of them? Do you see the happiness there?" He asked, a smile dancing on his lips.

"Yes." I said, looking at the people. Luna was standing in the middle of a crowd, all of whom were thrusting pen and paper at the famous coordinator. Two children, one with a scarred Absol, and one with a beautiful Gardevoir, were laughing and throwing paper airplanes at each other, made out of the paper menus, napkins, whatever it was that they found.

"That right there is absolutely beautiful. Right now they don't have a care in the world." Lucien said, and turned towards me, his eyes burning with a flame that I had only seen in the eyes of N when he spoke of saving Pokémon from cruelty. "That is what I am trying to protect. Happiness. I am very willing to be the man in the shadows to achieve this. And what lay beneath the Ruins of Alph is what drove me towards that goal." He said. I clicked my pen and opened my notebook, jotting down everything he had said so far.

"And what did lie beneath the Ruins of Alph?" I asked.

"Hell. It was a pure nightmare. No hope. No chance of happiness. No light in a dark world. I never saw my Pokémon again after the Ilex forest, and I have no desire to know what happened to them. For four years I endured this hellish environment, being subjected to experiments that the mad scientist Namuba had cooked up. After the four years, I broke free while being shipped to Viridian City, as a..._product_. I escaped with two others, the Riolu you spoke of, whom is with me today, and a girl much like myself, whom is no longer with us." He said, and closed his mouth. I waited for more, but it did not come.

"Is that it?" I asked. Lucien nodded.

"Yes." He said.

"What happened to the girl? Why is she not with you today?" I asked.

"Dead. She died because Namuba had implanted a device in her that killed her if she got too far away. Mine was defective. That is why I survived." He said simply.

"And what happened to Namuba?" I asked.

"Dead. He didn't survive an unfortunate encounter with a rock. Look, I don't want to talk about this anymore. I've got a schedule to keep, and you fit in perfectly with it." He said. "I've done my homework on you, Anna. You were the one who found N, and consequently, Black, and interviewed them both. That's how you got your job as a reporter. You also found and interviewed Giovanni, who, after a stern lecturing from me and Red, fled to the mountains to rethink his life. You hold a lot of sway in the reporting community because of this, and I have decided to trust you. I want you to have this." He said, and slid a flashdrive across the table to me. I picked it up and glanced at Lucien.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's information. I've already given it to the International Police, but they seem determined to ignore it. So I'm coming to you. Look it over, and then put it out there. If people know about it, it can no longer be ignored." He said. I nodded and slipped the flashdrive into my purse, determined to drill Lucien for more information about his past. It was still too vague for my tastes, but I didn't want to scare him off either.

"Ok." I said.

"Good. Are we done here? I want to go enjoy myself for a bit." He said, and I shook my head.

"No. The masked man, I still have to ask you about that. You know, the one who beat all of the champions? Who is he?" I asked. Lucien laughed.

"Figure it out, you're smart. Who's the one person who trained the champions?" He asked, and stood up, walking out towards where Luna was. I shook my head and wrote a few notes into my notebook. _Don't worry, he's not going anywhere. This cruise lasts a week, so that gives you a week to get more information out of him. _I told myself. **Don't bet on it. You have much less time than that. **

POV CHANGE: Suicune

I glared at Lugia through the psychic connection, shaking my head.

"You didn't tell me that Entei's champion would be on board." I said. Lugia shrugged.

"Well, it just kind of worked out like that. Don't worry, I've got it covered. It's a perfect time to test both of them, so I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone, metaphorically speaking." Lugia said.

"Whatever. Are you ready?" I growled. Lugia nodded.

"Yes. It should start raining...now." He said. Just as he did, the dark sky overhead began to pour rain on the open ocean. I stood on top of the water, and looked out at the white cruise ship sailing over the waves with ease. It was merely four hundred yards away.

"Don't screw this up, Lugia." I said. Lugia nodded and terminated the psychic connection, leaving me to my duty. "Mars, once again, I am sorry."

POV CHANGE: Mars

I sighed and nibbled at my food, watching April and James throwing paper planes at each other. I wasn't hungry, I just had the munchies, the need to snack on something.

"Hey." A voice said behind me. I turned my head to look at the speaker, only to see Rose, the Absol from earlier, poking her head out from underneath a table. "Can I have some?" She asked. I shrugged and slid the plate towards her with one paw. She gripped the edge of her plate between her teeth and slid back underneath the table, disappearing under the cloth covering it. I looked around, and then slipped under the table next to Rose, much to her surprise.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. Rose growled and went back to eating the food I had given her. "I thought you were going to get off the boat."

"Well, I was, but I couldn't find the way out. By the time I did, the doors had closed and we were leaving the port. So I had no choice." She muttered. "Now I'm stuck on here." I laughed and shook my head.

"Well that sucks." I said. She nodded, and finished her meal.

"Hey...thanks for helping me back there." She said. I shrugged.

"Whatever. But, hey. I want to ask you about that Tyranitar story. Your trainer was talking about how she caught you, and I wanted to know what it was about." I said. Rose looked at me, and then lay down, glaring at a table leg.

"Yeah? I got defeated by a Tyranitar that was attacking a Cyndaquil. In the end, the Tyranitar backed off, but about two hours later that trainer caught me while I slept, having been watching me nearly the whole time. That's it. Got a problem with it, domestic?" She snapped. I blinked in surprise. Domestic was supposed to be an insult that wild Pokémon said to Pokémon that had been raised in captivity.

"You know...I was wild once too. Not that long ago either. I decided to travel with April because the girl reeks of danger. Not that I can sense it anymore, now that I lost my horn, but that's beside the point. Quick question, did you happen to meet a legendary after the Tyranitar attack?" I asked. Rose stiffened and studied me.

"No. Why do you ask?" She said slowly. _Obviously a lie, but let's play along. _

"You sure? Because the same exact thing happened to me. A Charmander was being attacked by a Tyranitar, so I ran in to help, only to have him pretty much mop the floor with me. Then Suicune stopped him and dropped by to have a little chat. Sound familiar yet?" I asked. Rose looked at me in shock, and I grinned. "Hit it on the head, didn't I?" I asked. She nodded.

"Yeah, pretty much, but I didn't meet Suicune. I met Entei. How-" She cut herself off, and a panicked expression crossed her face, her head tilting to the side. "Oh, Arceus. This is bad. Bad bad bad bad bad." She said. A dull throb began to ring in my head, echoing from the stump of my horn. Rose looked at me, fear alight in her eyes. "It's a disaster. A natural disaster is coming."

**BWAHAHAHAHA! FINALLY, I GOT TO THIS PART! I** **had to establish a few things before I could get to this part, which I'm really amped about. And how do you like that cliffhanger, huh?**


End file.
